Losing You
by Saphire Ravven8
Summary: Jesse and Lexa get kidnapped and tortured. Will Bren and Shal be able to get to them in time? And if so, what will be the consequences of their actions? How will they cope if they lose someone they love? BS & JL
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing, 'cept the plot.

A/N: Heh. Yay! A new story! Whoo!  
  
"Okay guys, we're ready to go, you coming?" Jesse called, as he and Lexa waited impatiently for Shalimar and Brennan. Lexa was dressed in an extraordinarily short, black, pleated skirt than moved with her body and a tight silver halter top that showed quite a lot of skin on her breasts, stomach, and back. Jesse couldn't take his eyes off of her. He himself was wearing a white tank top and a white button-up long-sleeved shirt and tight jeans.

"Coming!" Shalimar called from upstairs. The feral and elemental mutants appeared out of nowhere, startling them. Shalimar wasn't wearing much in the way of clothing. She had on a barely-there black skirt and a glittering light blue top that was held up by thin strings that criss-crossed and tied in the back and two strings that tied at the base of her neck. Brennan was wearing a similar outfit to Jesse's except his tank top and shirt were black.  
"Hey, that's my trick," Lexa pouted at them. "Nice look Shal." She complemented the feral. Shal spun around once to let her see the back, grinning.  
"Not too bad yourself." Shalimar replied.  
"Thanks." Lexa smiled.  
"Yeah, I think Jesse could drool a little less though."  
"Are you guys ready to go?" Jesse asked again hastily, blushing a bit.  
"Yeah, I wanna go dancing!" Lexa smiled, though she had a pinkish tinge to her cheeks as well.  
"Su-," Brennan began then caught the come-hither look that Shalimar was shooting him. "Um... We'll meet up with you later, okay?" It's all in the eyes, Brennan thought, looking at Shalimar's expression with a grin.  
Jesse smirked, "Okay, see you in a bit."  
"Bye!" Lexa waved and ran out the door, dragging Jesse with her. Giggling, Shalimar led Brennan off to his bedroom.  
  
Jesse and Lexa danced close, Lexa running her hands all over him. They grinded, and Jesse pulled her as close as he could, feeling the heat mounting between them. Lexa pushed against him, vaguely wondering what was taking Shal and Brennan so long, but not really caring, her full attention devoted to the body pushing against hers. Suddenly a loud noise interrupted them.  
Several dozen men in all black outfits burst through the door bearing large semi-automatics. People screamed and tried to move out of their way but the men ignored them completely, moving determinedly through the crowd towards the two mutants. Jesse grabbed Lexa's arm, turned, and tried to run through the crowds of frightened people, dragging Lexa with him. Lexa got ahead of him; he pushed her forward as a tight, painful hand clamped onto his arm, dragging him back. Lexa whirled around, growling at the men who had grabbed Jesse.  
"JESSE!" She screamed, starting to go back for him, but his frantic shouts stopped her.

"Lexa run!" Jesse shouted at her as the men hauled him backwards. "RUN!" Lexa wouldn't, "Please, Lexa! GO!" She hesitated then reluctantly turned and ran. She heard Jesse cry out in pain, and she glanced back, catching sight of them carrying his limp form through the crowd and blood splattering to the floor, before running faster. She swiftly yanked the COM ring from her finger and shoved it down into her bra so that, should they frisk her, they wouldn't take it. It was just as she finished doing so, that they caught her. She snarled and shot a blast at the man behind her. He cried out and let her go, but she didn't get far. Several other pairs of hands grabbed her and dragged her down, knocking her unconscious. The two unconscious mutants were thrown into the back of a black van, the doors slammed shut, and the van sped away.  
  
Brennan and Shalimar parked behind the club and jumped out, holding hands and laughing. Shalimar froze suddenly, eye glowing yellow. She sniffed the air, eyes widening. "What is it, Shal?" Brennan asked, frowning.

"Blood," she said, paused for a moment and then gasped. "Jesse's blood!" She ran around to the front, taking Brennan with her. She stopped short, inhaling sharply at the sight laid out before them. Several police cars were parked in front and the cops were standing, talking to frightened- looking clubbers. Shalimar glanced around but she couldn't see or sense their friends' presence. When she found no sign of them, she and Brennan dashed to the police-taped front door, trying to get in to look for them, when they were stopped by a burly looking cop.

"Crime scene," he grunted, "can't go in there."

"Please, our friends were in there!" Shalimar pleaded.

"Sorry, miss, I can't letcha in."

"Please! There not out here! We've gotta fine them!"

"Did they look like this?" Another cop came up behind them, a small lithe woman, about Shalimar's age, and held up two sketches. Shalimar gasped. Brennan put an arm around her as a tear rolled down her cheek. He nodded.

"Yeah," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Yeah, that's them."

"I'm sorry," the woman said gently. "They were kidnapped not fifteen minutes ago by a bunch of black clothed men with guns. They were unconscious when they were dragged out of here. A couple of guys tried to stop 'em, but the men just knocked 'em out and left." Shalimar sobbed quietly, burying her face in Brennan's jacket, shivering in his arms. "I'm so sorry; we're doing everything we can to get your friends back." The police woman said. "Do you know anyone that would want to take them? Or why? The other on-lookers said that the men only seemed interested in your friends." Brennan thought about the Dominion, the GSA, Genomex, and proceeded to shake his head no, unable to speak. He supported Shalimar in his arms as she cried. The woman nodded and smiled gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Can..." Brennan asked suddenly as she started to walk away. She stopped and turned back to him. "Can we see where it happened?" He asked quietly. She thought for a moment before nodding and taking them inside.

"This is where the boy was," she said, pointing to a place where several small spots of blood scattered the floor.

"Jesse," Shalimar breathed, her voice coming out choked with tears. The woman nodded. "

They knocked him out with the gun handle while he was shouting to the woman to run. They hit him while he was being held down by several of the others."

"Bastards," Brennan growled.

"The other clubbers say he fought like hell. He was trying to protect her. After the knocked him out, the kidnappers went after the girl. One of them caught her when she looked back to see where her friend...Jesse, did you say his name was?" Brennan nodded. "When she looked to see where Jesse was. The bystanders say something weird happened, like a bright red flash, and the guy let go of her and fell to the ground."

"She fought back," Shal whispered so that only Brennan could hear her. He nodded, then turned his attention back to the cop.

"The girl-,"

"Lexa," Brennan informed her, tired of hearing her call Lexa 'the girl' or 'the woman.'

"Lexa," The female cop nodded. "She tried to run again, but they caught her, knocked her out, then dragged them out the front door."

She led them out the door and pointed to a set of tire tracks that led out of the lot. "A man who was smoking outside said that the kidnappers tossed them into the back of a black van and drove out of here like a bad-outta- hell."

Brennan nodded, "Thank you." He whispered, shaking her hand gently, still supporting Shalimar's quaking body with his other arm wrapped securely around her waist. He handed her a slip of paper with his cell phone number on it.

"We'll call you if we find anything. We'll do whatever we can to find your friends. I promise," the cop smiled slightly and walked away.

"What're we gonna do, Brennan?" Shalimar asked quietly, leaning against him. He held her close, putting his arms around her in a tight hug.

"We're gonna get them back."  
  
Lexa groaned and placed a hand to the throbbing bump on the back of her head. Memories of the previous night jolted her into wakefulness and she sat bolt upright, looking for Jesse. She instantly regretted her quick motions as her head swam painfully. She opened her eyes again slowly and looked around. She gasped when she caught sight of Jesse, lying in a crumpled heap against the opposite wall. She crawled over to him quickly, pulling his head onto her knees. She brushed a few stray hairs out of his face and shook him gently, wiping away some dried blood from a cut on his forehead.

"Come on Jesse, wake up." She whispered as loudly as she dared. "Wake up Jess." He moaned softly and opened his eyes slowly. "Hey," Lexa smiled warmly.

"Hey," he whispered, his voice hoarse. He sat up slowly, resting his back against the wall, looking around at their cell. "My Com ring is gone. They must have taken it...Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know," Lexa replied.

"Fool! You were supposed to get all four of Adam's freaks!" A grizzly man in his late fifties snarled from his position behind a large oak desk.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Neilson. Those were the only two there."

"You're sorry Marcus! You're SORRY!" The man, Mr. Theodore Neilson shouted, slamming his fists onto the desktop. He took a deep breath, just like they had taught him in anger management. One two three four...he exhaled. He sighed, more calm now. "Fine, I suppose these two will due, so long as they spill."

"Everyone cracks under enough torture, sir." His minion grinned eagerly. Neilson steepled his fingers in vicious gleefulness.  
"Yes," he growled deep in his throat. "Bring the boy to the panic room in twenty minutes."  
"Yessir," Marcus nodded and left. This gave him fifteen minutes to slack off, then it was torture time. He grinned wickedly and strode down the hallway.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Whoo! Jesse's gonna get tortured. Hehehe... Poor Jesse...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing...bummer...

A/N: Chapter two! Yay! Oh, and my hopes are to get at least 8 reviews. If I don't, I may prolong my update. Then you'll have to wait extra long to find out what becomes of our favorite Mutant X hotties.

CHAPTER 2

"Dammit!" Brennan shouted, slamming his fists onto the keyboard in frustration. Shalimar came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "The people that took them must've taken their Com rings. I can't get a location on either of them. DAMMIT!" He shouted again.  
"Keep trying, baby. We can't give up. Maybe one of them's stupid and will put on the ring 'cause they think it's cool looking. Then we'll be able to track 'em down." Brennan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.  
"I swear to God, if they hurt them..." he growled.  
"I know, baby, I know." She whispered, a tear running down her cheek.  
  
"I can't believe they got my Com ring." Jesse commented dismally, but Lexa grinned.  
"Not mine. I hid it." She whispered. Jesse's eyes widened.  
"Seriously?" He asked excitedly.  
"Seriously," she replied. "It's in my bra."  
"Good, keep it there. We don't want them to catch you with it on." Jesse told her, she nodded. The cell door squeaked open and three burly men strode in. Lexa and Jesse stood in fighting stances. Lexa shot a beam at them but something reflected it. She growled. One of the guys zapped her with a buzz baton and she fell to the floor in pain. Jesse sprang forward and threw a punch at him, but was grabbed roughly by two of them and dragged out of the cell door, which slammed shut behind him. He struggled madly, but couldn't escape their vice- like grips.  
"JESSE!" Lexa screamed, throwing herself against the bars, only to get shocked again and thrown backwards to the floor. "BASTARDS!"  
Lexa punched the cell wall in frustration. She pulled the Com ring out and slipped it onto her finger, hoping that Brennan and Shalimar were still trying to locate them.  
"Brennan? Shalimar?" She whispered as loudly as she dared, knowing that a guard, or several guards were somewhere close by.  
  
"I've got something!" Brennan crowed triumphantly. Shalimar came running to his side, looking eagerly over his shoulder.  
"Brennan? Shalimar?" Lexa's soft voice echoed through the room.  
"Lexa? Is that you? Where are you guys? Are you okay?" Brennan asked hastily, relief flooding his body.  
"I don't know where we are," Lexa whispered. "I'm okay, but they just took Jess away. God, I think they're torturing him." Shalimar growled angrily, Brennan laid a hand on her arm.  
"Got it," Shal muttered in triumph as the computer locked on to Lexa's position. "We're coming for you, Lexa." Shalimar assured her.  
  
Jesse felt his hands being lashed together behind the chair in which he now sat. He looked tauntingly at the older man and a young, cattish woman rubbing against him eagerly. "Can't take me without my hands tied?" He grinned.  
The guard, a big, dumb, blundering loser, jabbed a buzz baton into his side, sending a jolt of pain through him. The woman purred and slid over to him, running a finger along his jaw. Jesse glared daggers at her, snapping at her finger with his teeth. She flinched without meaning to, looked taken aback for a moment, and then grinned. "Can I play with him, Theo? Pretty please?" She looked at him with wide, pleading eyes.  
"Aye, Serenity, in a moment. I want to have my way with him first. You just tell me if he lies. If he does you can use him as your new scratching post."  
"Feral, huh?" Jesse said quietly. The woman, Serenity, nodded and smiled, bearing tiny fangs, eyes flashing yellow. "I have a friend like you. But she's nicer. Prettier too." He grinned cockily as Serenity hissed and slashed his face with sharp, claw-like nails. He felt blood trickle from the wounds on his cheek, but continued smiling.  
"Enough," Neilson ordered. "Now, mutant, where is Adam Cane?"  
Jesse shrugged as best as he could in his bonds, "I dunno." Neilson glanced at Serenity who nodded, assuring him that Jesse spoke the truth.  
"Okay, so you don't know where Adam is. But you must know... where is the place called Sanctuary.  
"What the hell's that?" Jesse replied stubbornly. Serenity shook her head that it was a lie.  
"Oh good, now the fun begins." Neilson smirked wickedly, snatched some electrical pads, hooked by wires to a small machine used to generate electricity. "So, you're a molecular. Let's see if you can stay massed long enough to not feel what I suspect will be a huge amount of pain." He grinned more maliciously than before. He put two of the circular pads on Jesse's chest and taped them there. He nodded to his muscle man to turn the machine on. He took a small remote control, stepped back beside Serenity and pushed the button. Jesse massed quickly, only receiving a small shock before his mutation took effect. He held it for as long as he could which, luckily, was long enough for Neilson to flick off the charge. "Good, very good. And again." He pushed it on again; Jess massed, but couldn't hold it.  
  
White hot pain coursed through Jesse's body, he screamed in pain, throwing his head back, his body convulsing. Neilson pushed the button again and the electric flow stopped, leaving Jesse blinded by pain and gasping for air.  
"Too bad, now, I'll ask you again. Where is Sanctuary?" Neilson said, not as calmly as before. The guard pushed the buzz baton into Jess's stomach and sides several times when, again, he did not answer, only glared, chest heaving. "WHERE IS SANCTUARY!!??" Neilson screamed, pushing the remote's button again. Pain scoured Jesse's body.  
"Screw... y-you." He gasped when the third shock ended. Serenity slashed her nails across his bare chest and stomach several times as she snarled in anger. Neilson let her go for a few minutes before pulling her off again. Jesse lost consciousness after several more jolts from the buzz baton and one more from the machine.  
  
"He's been with them for over two hours. What the hell are they doing to him?" Lexa whispered into the COM ring, panic seizing her heart.  
"I don't know Lexa." Shalimar's worried voice responded.

Lexa heard the guards coming; they were dragging something between them. When they came into view, she gasped sharply. "JESSE!" She shrieked in horror at the bruised and bloody sight of him. They tossed him roughly into the cell beside her, slamming the door shut. She fell to her knees at his side, lifting his head onto her lap. "Oh God, they killed him!" she gasped. The others didn't hear her.

"Lexa!" Shalimar exclaimed in fear. "Lexa what's going on?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Remember EIGHT REVIEWS!!! So, if you're reading this and not reviewing: STOPPIT!! STOPPIT STOPPIT STOPPIT!!! Hehehe...Review. Go on, pleeeeaaasseee...Saph


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, I still own nothing but the plot and Neilson. Marcus, and Serenity.

A/N: YAY! Thank you soooo much for your reviews! Yes, I know it was bad for me to blackmail you, which I shall now stop doing. But please continue to review. Oh yes, PREWARNING!!!! There will be RAPE in the NEXT CHAPTER!!! I cannot, for the sake of the story, take that out. So please, please, do not report me. It is necessary to the fic for that to be in there. Thank you.

  
"Lexa!" Shalimar exclaimed in fear. "Lexa what's going on?" Lexa ignored her for a moment, checking for a pulse from his seemingly-lifeless form through the blood and bruises. "LEXA!" Shalimar shouted. "Is he okay!? LEXA! GOD DAMMIT LEXA, ANSWER ME!" Lexa got her ragged breathing under control before speaking.

"He's alive," she breathed. Shalimar exhaled a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "God, look what they did to you." Lexa said, more to herself than to the others. She ran a hand over his cheek, cold and pale. Blood poured from deep claw-like gashes in his face, chest, and stomach. Lexa took her sweater from around her waist and wrapped it tightly around the wounds on his torso to slow the bleeding.

"Is he okay?" Brennan asked, his throat tight.

"No, he's bleeding really badly. Brennan, I think he's dying." Lexa sobbed, burying her face in Jesse's hair. She heard Shalimar gasp.

"We'll be there soon Lexa, hold on." Brennan told her. Lexa's head snapped up as she heard the guards coming back.

"Uh-oh; I think it's my turn." Lexa told them.

"Lexa, no!" Shalimar cried out in panic.

"Hurry, guys, I don't know how long Jesse can hang on. I'll be okay. I'm putting the ring on Jesse so you can track the signal." With that she slipped the ring off of her finger and put it on Jesse's. They just barely heard her murmur, "And so the fun begins. Those bastards are gonna pay for what they did to you, Jess," before she went out of the COM link's range.  
  
The guards, four of them, burst through the door. Lexa stood, spun around and aimed a beam, not at their chests, as they seemed to be protected there, but at their faces. One of them fell to the floor, dead. Another clutched at the side of his head where her aim had been thrown off by a hand grabbing her arm, and her attack had grazed his temple. Lexa turned on the hand that held her, kneeing him in the nuts, then in the face as he fell, clutching his crotch in pain. The fourth finally took her down, slamming the butt of a knife into the back of her head, just hard enough to stun her but not knock her out. Several other guards came in and dragged her away.  
  
"You're turn pretty miss." Neilson informed her with a grin. "If you're a good little girl I promise you won't end up looking like your insolent little friend."

"You son of a bitch," Lexa snarled, straining against her bonds. "If he dies, I'll kill you." Neilson grinned wider and put an arm around Serenity, who purred with anticipation.

"I like this one, she's feisty." Serenity purred, her long black hair falling into her face.

"Yes, but she also seems to be the more dangerous of the two, so I'd be wary around her, my pet." Neilson warned. Serenity whimpered disappointedly, but kept her distance. Her fun would come.

"Now, baby," Neilson addressed Lexa, "where is Adam?"

"Damned if I know," Lexa spat. Serenity nodded. "It seems as though none of Adam's puppets know where he is. Quite the elusive character our Adam Cane. Ah, well, next question. Now, remember, my sweet, this is the more important of the two questions, so answer truthfully." He smiled disarmingly. "Where is Sanctuary?" Lexa didn't bother trying to lie.

"Bite me," she snarled, glaring at him viciously. She struggled harder against her bindings; she managed to get her hands in the right position and shot an orange-red beam up, severing the painfully tight ropes. She leapt up and pounced on Neilson. She threw her fist into his face repeatedly, smiling with satisfaction at the crack of his breaking nose. Serenity leapt on her, growling. She winced as the feral's claws raked deep into her shoulder and across her back. Lexa was pulled off of Neilson and shocked repeatedly with the buzz baton. A large, dish plate sized fist slammed into her face. Serenity slashed her nails across Lexa's side. Lexa felt something heavy slam into the back of her head and she passed out. She was dragged back to the cell and thrown in carelessly. The door slammed shut behind her. Harsh red bruises were forming on her sides and stomach and blood flowed heavily from the wounds in her shoulder and side.  
  
Brennan kicked open the door to a dingy factory that had been closed down for years. It reeked of damp and mold. Rats and insects scurried about in the gloom. Shalimar cringed at the thought of Jesse and Lexa being trapped here. They followed the path designated them by Jesse's hand-held computer. "Down this flight of stairs," Shalimar instructed Brennan, following him through the doorway and down the crumbling stairway. Brennan kicked open the door at the bottom of the staircase. "Left," she said and they ran down the hallway. "They should be around here somewhere."

"Lex!" Brennan yelled loudly. "Lexa! Jesse!"

"Jesse's probably still unconscious and we have no idea what condition Lexa's in after her torture session. She could be out too. Keep calling, though; maybe one of them will hear us." She walked slowly down the hall, glancing into each grimy cell, calling Lexa's name as loudly, not caring who heard, Brennan doing the same. Shalimar's eyes flashed yellow. "They're close." She murmured, more to herself than Brennan.  
Lexa stirred into wakefulness, regretting that she did so, as her whole body ached and blood flowed freely from several deep cuts in her side and shoulder. 'Bitch,' Lexa thought of Serenity's vicious claws. Suddenly Lexa's head snapped up, she thought she heard voices. Someone calling her name. It sounded familiar. She heard Shalimar's voice and she was flooded with relief. She tried to respond but couldn't summon up the strength to yell or even sit up. She raised a weak, shaky hand and shot a small flare up and ricocheting around the cell, then collapsed, clutching at her injured side.  
"There!" Shalimar shouted, leading the way to the lit-up cell at a run. She screamed, startled, when she came face to face with two surly guards. One of them grabbed her arm.  
"Shalimar, duck!" Brennan shouted. Shalimar struck out at the man holding her with her fist, then dropping to the floor in a crouch. Brennan shot a bolt of electricity at the guards, knocking them unconscious. "Come on!" Brennan grabbed her hand and they ran to the still-lit prison cell. Shalimar ran back and snatched the electronic key from one of the guards, opening the door and running over to her friends, Brennan just behind her.  
"Lexa," Shalimar breathed, brushing the brunette's hair out of her face and holding her hand gently.  
"Shal," Lexa whispered hoarsely. "Brennan," Brennan clasped her other hand briefly before turning to see where Jesse was.

"Oh God, Jesse!" Brennan exclaimed, Shalimar turned and gasped. Jesse's hastily wrapped chest and stomach was covered in blood, soaking through the make-shift bandage, as were his face and arms. What they could see of his skin was pale, bruised in places, and cool to the touch. A large pool of blood surrounded him. "Bastards," Brennan whispered angrily.

Shalimar's eyes glowed yellow suddenly and she growled viciously deep in her throat, blonde hair framing her face. "Shal?" Brennan asked, "What is it?"

"Reinforcements," she snarled. "Lots of them; A dozen at least. We've gotta get out of here. Now." She helped Lexa to her feet, putting a supportive arm around her waist, half-carrying her to the cell door, which she held open. Brennan hoisted Jesse's limp body over his shoulders, gently, so as not to hurt him anymore than he already was, then hurried out the door before Shalimar, then heard it close behind them. Footsteps pounded down the hallway, angry shouts echoed through the desolate corridor. "Hurry, Brennan!" Shalimar yelled, urging them forward. She ran, though she knew, just as Brennan did, that they would be caught unless they did something to slow the guards down. Shalimar came up with the only possible answer.

She halted abruptly, calling for Brennan to stop. He turned to her, unawares of her plan. Shalimar came up in front of him and kissed him deeply, putting his free arm around Lexa and disentangling the other girl from her embrace. "Shalimar, what're you doing?" Brennan asked; fear striking his heart because he suddenly realized exactly what she was doing. "Shal no!" He exclaimed. She kissed him again, tears in her eyes, before shoving him away down the corridor. She drop kicked the first guard to come around the corner.  
"Go Brennan! I can't carry them both out of here by myself. You can! You've gotta get them out of here or Jesse will die! The only way you can do that is if someone slows them down! Now go!" She shouted, cold-cocking a second guard and winding a third.  
"I'm not gonna leave you here!" He shouted in panic.  
"I'll be okay! But they won't! Now please Brennan, go!" Shalimar cried desperately, knocking out the next guy, kneeing a fifth between the legs. "I can take care of myself. If I'm not out in ten, leave without me. I'll be okay." She assured him.

"Hide your COM ring," Lexa said weakly. "Down your bra. If they catch you, they won't look there." Shalimar smiled at her, before knocking the feet from under another guy. She was now fending off three men at once, as they had finally realized that she had been picking them off one by one.

"GO!" She screamed exasperatedly, slipping off her ring and hiding it as Lexa had suggested. Brennan took one last reluctant look back, meeting her eyes and seeing the determination there, turned and ran down the hallway, calling back over his shoulder.  
"I love you. I'll come back for you."  
"I love you, too." She smiled, landing a spin kick into the chest of the nearest guy. "Take care of them. I'm counting on you, baby." Brennan nodded and took off down the corridor as fast as his could with his precious burdens.

Shalimar grinned cattishly as she took a few steps backwards in a prowling- fighting stance. The hallway became flooded with guards. Her grin widened. "Play time," she purred with anticipation, then leapt upon the men.

TO BE CONTINUED....

A/N: Okay, I won't blackmail you for reviews anymore. I just like getting them... Anyways, I like my fics and that's all that should really matter...I just like knowing what you think. So, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease review...please. No blackmail, no threats of not updating just...you know...me aking you veryvery nicely. Thanks. Saph


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. "Cept the plot and the evil people.  
  
A/N: WARNING RAPE!!!! I've toned it down as much as possible without jeopardizing the effect of the moment. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER AND DO NOT REPORT ME!!!!  
  
"Shal!? Shalimar, answer me!" Brennan called into the Helix's speaker. It had already been twelve minutes, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He couldn't just leave her there to be tortured, even killed. "Shalimar, please," his throat tightened.

"Brennan," Shalimar's hushed voice over the speaker made him breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
Shalimar sat crouched in a corner of some dark room, breathing heavily, having only just managed to outrun Neilson's cronies. "Don't tell me you're still here Brennan." She admonished him. "Get going. Now, before they figure out where the Helix is."

"I-I can't," he stammered. "I can't leave you here."

"You can," she whispered. "You have to. I'll find my own way back to you. Just take care of them."

"Shal-," his voice held a hint of a plea.

"Just go. I'll be alright. I find a way back to you. I promise." She assured him again. "Shit, my play mates are coming back. Gotta go baby. So do you. I love you." He told her he loved her and she hid the ring away again just as the guards burst into the room. "Hey boys," she grinned and kicked the legs out from two guards, grabbed the front of another's shirt and chucked him over her head and into the wall, doing the same to the next. She was hauled to the ground then by close to a dozen guards. Shalimar swore inwardly. 'Sorry, Brennan, I failed.' She thought to herself as she was knocked out and dragged away.  
  
Shalimar woke in a poorly lit room. Her eyes glowed yellow as she sensed three other bodies near her. One was a feral, like herself. She growled threateningly. An old man, maybe in his early sixties, shuffled over to her. He had several bruises forming on his face and a bandage on his nose.

"Hello Shalimar Fox," he said evilly, making her shudder. "I've heard a lot about you. Adam's girl. The feral beauty who captured the Elemental's heart. Yes, I know about you and Mr. Mulwray." Neilson said, noticing Shalimar's surprised expression. He laughed, sending another shiver down Shalimar's spine. "Adam's two favorites. The most powerful of the four. Except that Lexa. She's quite the dangerous little character, isn't she?" He winced as he laid a gentle finger on his nose. Shalimar grinned.

"Damn straight you stupid fuck. Bet you got more than you bargained for when you tried to hurt Lexa. Bet she kicked your fat, ugly ass." She insulted him insolently. Neilson's eyes flashed angrily and he knelt down in from of her, grabbing her shoulders painfully.

"You're going to pay for that. I'm not just going to torture you; I'm going to make you feel so dirty, so utterly filthy, that you won't let your precious Brennan touch you ever again. I'm going to desecrate that perfect little body of your and make you bleed. Inside and out. You won't make it out of this room alive, princess. That's a promise."

"Nothing you can do to me will make me do that. Brennan would never hurt me. And you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Shalimar quipped bitterly, though she feared what was coming next. He was going to take her. 'God Brennan, please don't hate me.' She thought sadly. She shifted slightly and by some strange power unknown to her, her COM ring slipped from her bra, down her side, and onto her finger, un-noticed, as Neilson was sending Serenity and the guard out of the room. This was something she would come to regret in the near future. Very much.  
  
Jesse lay motionless, his body being scanned by numerous computers as they tried to reverse the damage done to him. The slow blip....blip.....blip of the heart monitor could be heard in the background. Brennan and Lexa hovered in nervous anticipation out of the way while the computers did what they had to do.

"God, I wish there was something I could do to help him." Lexa's voice broke and a tear ran down her cheek. Brennan put an arm around her. She had only been under the computers for an hour. In that time her wounds from the feral Serenity, had been healed and all she had left of her ordeal were a few bruises. Jesse had been lying there, seemingly lifeless, for almost four hours and it frustrated her to know that she couldn't help him. She couldn't stop his pain. He had helped her take that stupid mind-control device out of her neck; he had saved her life, and now she was watching his life flicker and wane, hoping and praying that it wouldn't go out; wouldn't take the man she had grown to love away from her before his time.

"I'm gonna go see if I can get a hold of Shal. Keep an eye on him." Brennan whispered, squeezed her shoulder, and then walked away. 'Please, God, don't take him from us. We can't lose him too.' Brennan prayed.

Lexa sat by Jesse's bed, stroking his hand gently with her fingers. "You can't leave me, Jess. There's still so much I haven't told you. That I haven't shown you." Another tear fell from her eyes.

"I remember the day I met you. I was an unwelcome stranger in your midst. You had just lost Emma and I could tell you felt alone and abandoned.

"You thought I was a hard ass 'cause I showed no emotions. But what you didn't know was that I wanted to reach out and tell you I understood and that I knew how you felt. I wanted to comfort you, let you let go, feel safe enough to cry in my arms." She paused.

"But I couldn't. Not then. I was too afraid that if I let people get to close, I would only get hurt again. But you; I just couldn't keep you out of my head, or my heart. No matter how hard I tried, you grew closer, as did Shalimar and Brennan.

"But you were different from them. I found myself falling in love with you. And I couldn't stop myself. And now, you're lying here, fighting for your life, and I don't know what to do. I can't lose you. Not now. Not like this. And I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake, letting any of you get so close. It only gets me hurt. But I can't help feeling that I needed this. You made me feel alive again." She broke down in tears and laid her head on his arm. "You can't leave me, Jesse," she sobbed.  
  
[A/N: RAPE IN THIS PARAGRAPH!! IF IT BUGS YOU DON'T READ IT!! YOU HAVE AGAIN BEEN WARNED!!!]  
  
Neilson stripped off his pants and roughly tore open Shalimar's jeans. He stared at her, playing with himself until he... "rose to the occasion...", then he straddled her and roughly thrust into her. Disgusted tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she held them back, not wanting to give him the pleasure of seeing her cry. He drew out the process, thrusting slowly, but in a way that pained her. She struggled, but to no avail, she screamed at a particularly painful movement by Neilson, but it only seemed to encourage him. He tore open her shirt and cupped her breasts in his hands, her shirt hanging loosely from one shoulder. He bit her breasts hard, drawing blood. He soon lost control over his body and started pumping into her hard and fast, fingers digging deep welts and bruises into her sides and abdomen, until he came.  
  
Brennan listened to the sounds of his beloved being defiled. He winced and clenched his fists angrily as she screamed in pain. Lexa came up behind him and gasped. He heard the man, Neilson's, sigh as he reached his climax. Brennan let hot, angry tears run down his cheeks. Lexa wrapped her arms around him comfortingly and held him as his body was wracked with sorrowful tears of pain and rage. But what came next was worse. The screen suddenly went blank, the connection lost. When it came on again, several minutes later, the heart monitor built into the COM ring squealed shrilly, her heart had stopped.

"Time of death: 11:43 PM." The computer droned.

"NO!!" Brennan screamed. "SHALIMAR!! NO!!" He sobbed and Lexa held him closer, tears rolling down her cheeks.

'This can't be happening.' Lexa thought, trying to breathe through her pain- constricted throat, she cried harder. "Shalimar," she whispered, her voice hoarse.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
A/N: I hope I didn't make Lexa too OOC...If I did I am sincerely sorry. It was a touching moment, plus she seems to have softened up a bit where Jesse's concerned. Also, she loves him. We all know it. So there...yeah...Review please and thank you! Saph Oh yeah, and I'm uploading this and watching MX on TV at 11:55 at night...Duuuddeee...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: WARNING!! A BIT OF FEMSLASH!!! Shal/Serenity!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!  
  
Shalimar held her breath as he pulled out of her and put his pants back on. He grinned maliciously at her before letting Serenity and the guard, Marcus, back into the room. Tears streaked Shalimar's grimy cheeks as she glared up at him. The COM ring slipped from her finger and clattered to the floor. She inhaled sharply as the sound seemed to resonate through the room. Neilson's head snapped to the source of the noise, eyes falling on the silver, glinting ring. She groaned inwardly. He frowned, went over, and picked it up. He studied closely before a slow smile spread over his face.

"So this is how your friends have known exactly what was going on and where to find us. No doubt, our Mr. Mulwray has been listening to us the whole time. This is even more perfect then I could've possibly foreseen." His grin widened further. "Let's have some fun with him, shall we? Marcus, bring me the body of the guard Ms. Pierce killed." Marcus saluted and trooped out of the room.

"You leave him the hell alone." Shalimar spat.

"I'll do what ever I please." Neilson quipped. He took the control for his electrical torture device and pressed the button. Shalimar screamed in pain, but he held it down for several long seconds. When he finally lifted his finger from the control she slumped down in her chair, breathing heavily. He snatched the buzz baton from a nearby table and zapped her several times. When that no longer amused him he took a sharp scalpel from a silver tray on the table and dug it into the skin on her exposed stomach. She gasped in pain as he carved several letters into her skin. He grinned as blood poured from the fresh wounds he had created.

"What's it say?" Serenity asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Well, my dear, it says 'freak.' Because that is what she is."

"Oh. Well, can I play with her now?" Serenity purred, slinking closer to their captive.

"Okay, love, but don't kill her. And be gentle around her pretty new tattoo." Neilson nodded. Serenity smiled coyly and sat astride Shalimar, rubbing her body against hers. Shalimar gasped as Serenity's body pressed against the cuts on her stomach. Serenity's fingernails dug deep into her back. Shal winced, but was forcing down a smirk. A plan was formulating in her sharp mind and she hid her excitement hastily, knowing that Serenity would sense it and tell that pervert, Neilson. It was then that Marcus returned, dragging the body behind him. "Good, perfect." Neilson murmured, a small smile playing at the edges of his lips.

Neilson pulled the ring out of his pocket and grabbed the body's limp hand and shoved the ring onto the lifeless finger. Shalimar gasped, 'NO!' her mind screamed. She suddenly knew what Neilson was doing. Now Brennan would think she was dead. God, this would kill him. Neilson chuckled; he knew this, just as Shalimar did. He brought the COM ring up to his mouth and spoke coldly, knowing, also, that the other Mutant X team mates were listening, praying to God that it was a computer malfunction.  
  
A harsh voice resonated through Sanctuary's computer room. Lexa gasped, "Neilson." And Brennan felt her flinch, her arms still around him. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Mr. Mulwray, I trust you are listening." Neilson's voice said harshly. Brennan was unable to speak. Neilson chuckled. "Yes, she is dead. This is not a computer malfunction. Your precious feral is dead. I raped her, I tortured her, and then I killed her. And you couldn't do a thing to stop me. Isn't that a wonderful concept?" Neilson sounded like he was having the time of his life. "Oh, and her body is on its way to be destroyed as we speak. Gosh, I hope you didn't want it or anything." Neilson laughed cruelly, and then the screen went blank again. Brennan stared at the screen for a few moments, a tormented look on his face, before laying his head on his arms and crying. Heavy sorrowful choking sobs that burned his throat, but it was no worse than the pain in his heart. Lexa put her shaking arms around him again as he cried.  
  
"You bastard!" Shalimar screamed. "This will kill him!"

Neilson grinned wickedly. "I know. Isn't it simply wonderful?" Tears flooded in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. "Go on, love. You can play with her now." Shalimar shut off her tears then, planning to put her idea into action, encouraged by the slight wave of sympathy flowing from the dark-haired feral's body. Serenity smiled slightly, proceeding to rub her chest and stomach against Shalimar. Shal winced again, but buried her pain deep inside her. She would need to be focused for her plan to work.

**_A/N: SECOND WARNING!!! FEMALE SEX IN NEXT PARAGRAPH!! YOU HAVE ONCE AGAIN BEEN WARNED!!!_**

Serenity licked Shalimar's jaw line and over her lips, to the tip of her nose, then moved her face to her neck and suckled the skin there, then moved up to nibble Shal's ear. 'This is it. God, I hope this works.' Shalimar thought, then forced a fake groan from her lips, nuzzling her face into Serenity's neck. The other feral sat back sharply, surprised by Shalimar's actions. Shal smiled coyly at her, then craned her neck and captured Serenity's lips with her own. Serenity bit Shalimar's lip, tugging gently. They heard Neilson and Marcus's breathing getting heavier.

"I didn't know you were into lesbian sex." Neilson commented breathlessly, a noticeable bulge forming in his pants. Shalimar broke off the kiss and smiled.

"Never asked," she replied, and then plunged her tongue deep into Serenity's mouth. Their tongues locked in a fiery tango, twisting and pushing against each other. She faked a moan as Serenity captured one of her breasts with her teeth, biting and suckling it gently. She lifted her hips as best she could under her restrained circumstances and the pain in her stomach. Serenity licked her way to Shalimar's warm center, taking some of Shal's blood on her tongue. Serenity shifted Shalimar's underwear out of the way, then licked the dark curls there. Shalimar pushed her hips up harder, forcing another moan, quickening her breath. Serenity plunged her tongue into Shalimar's clit suddenly and Shalimar cried out. "Oh yeah," Shalimar gasped. She felt Serenity grin. The other feral began to thrust her tongue in and out of her clit slowly, gently. An unexpected shiver ran through Shalimar. She would have to get Brennan to do it this way someday. She focused again on the task at hand. "Please, I want to touch you." She pleaded, seemingly filled with lust. Serenity didn't even hesitate, but slashed her bonds with her nails. Shalimar grinned and, before anyone could stop her, and before Serenity knew what was happening, the dark-haired feral was tossed bodily backward into a filing cabinet, instantly knocked unconscious.

Shalimar leapt up and tackled Neilson. Marcus landed some painful, heavy blows upon her from the sides and from behind before she snapped Neilson's neck, blood flowing freely from several wounds all over her body. "You should learn to keep your promises," she growled before Marcus tried to jump her again but, breathing heavily with exhaustion and pain, she punched him out. Serenity shook herself awake and slashed her nails deep into Shalimar's back. Shal cried out as pain coursed through her body. She punched Serenity out again then, without a second glance, she hobbled quickly from the room, grasping her stomach painfully, stumbled up the crumbled staircase, and out the door to the dingy side alley where she and Brennan had entered, God only knew how long ago. She jumped into a nearby dumpster, hastily covering her bruised and bloody body with garbage as she heard guards pouring out the door she had just exited, searching for her. She held her ragged breath as the lid was lifted on the dumpster and silver- blue eyes scanned it quickly before dropping the lid with a slam and running to join his fellow searchers. Shalimar exhaled, gasping sharply at a stab of pain that ran through her. Her eyes glowed yellow but she sensed no bodies in the surrounding area anymore, the soldiers must have gone off to search elsewhere. Shalimar climbed slowly, painfully out of the dumpster before limping away, ignoring the pain in her whole body.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED...  
**  
A/N: I know, I know...I've been terribly cruel to Shalimar, but hey, at least she isn't dead, right?? ::shrugs:: Don't report me for above content. You had plenty of warning. If you did it'd just be mean... Saph


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See previous chapters. THE SONG IS MINE!! BWA HA HA!!! ...okay, I'm done...

A/N: Not much Shal in this chap, but lotsa Brennan angst. He does alot of crying, but hey, he just lost the love of his life, give the dude a break.... Read On!

Jesse eyes flickered open around 4:30 in the morning, two day later. His eyes met Lexa's. Her eyes were puffy and red with tears that no one had seen, but flooded with relief. "Hey, Jess." She said, her voice hoarse.  
  
"Hey," he replied weakly.  
  
"How're you feeling?"  
  
"Sore." Jesse heard a shaky breath beside Lexa and shifted his head to look at Brennan, who looked like hell. His hair was tousled, his eyes were bloodshot, his hands shook, and there was so much grief reflected in his expression and eyes that Jesse frowned. "Brennan, what's-?" He paused and glanced around again, noticing the clear absence of a certain blonde. "Where's Shalimar?" He asked, fear striking his heart. Brennan looked at him sorrowfully, tears trickling from his puffy eyes, down his pale cheeks. Lexa squeezed his hand and Jesse looked at her. "Where is she Lexa?"  
  
"She's dead." Lexa choked out, tears welling in her eyes, but she held them back, feeling the need to be strong for her friends. Jesse gasped.  
  
"What?" A tear fell from his eyes. "No," he cried. "No, oh God no! Not after Emma! No!" He sobbed and Lexa held him closely, careful of his injuries. She pulled Brennan over to her and hugged him comfortingly as he shook with new tears. She laid her face in Jesse's shoulder and let him cry.  
  
Shalimar stumbled wearily down the road. The sun was sinking slowly behind her and it was getting dark. Blood still poured from the slices in her back and stomach and her head spun from loss of blood, hunger, and fatigue. She hobbled on, fearing that she would be caught any second by Neilson's men and sent back to face the undoubtedly angry Serenity.  
  
She limped off the road into a small tangle of trees a few yards from it and collapsed behind the large, twisted trunk of an elm. She faded into unconsciousness as the world around her and her own mind grew dark. Her last thought was of Brennan. 'I'm keeping my promise Brennan. I'm coming home. I'm coming back to you.'  
  
Cars passed by in the night. Several vans full of Neilson's men rumbled past, not six yards from where Shalimar lay shivering, bleeding. The night passed slowly, cold and full of loneliness, pain, and sorrow.  
  
Brennan sat on the edge of his bed, head in hands, burning eyes shut tightly. Blood trickled from thin slices on the insides of his arms. A small razor blade lay on his night stand, blade and tabletop covered with the Elemental's blood. He hadn't cut deep enough to kill himself, but deep enough to bleed, to feel some pain other than that constricting his chest, making his lungs burn with every breath he took. This was more than he could bear. He was dying inside. "You promised you'd come back to me." He sobbed, talking out loud to himself. "How can you just leave me like this? Who said you could die and leave me here alone?" He stood and punched a huge hole through his wall before slumping back to the floor, burying his face in his arms. "You promised me...you promised me Shal... you promised..." he sobbed harder, falling silent.  
  
Lexa sat by Jesse, her hand covering his. She had sat with him until he had fallen asleep, still weak from the events of the other day. He had been asleep for about an hour and Brennan had left to be alone shortly after telling Jesse about Shalimar. Lexa brushed a few pieces of Jesse's blonde-brown hair from his brow. The sound of music from the direction of Brennan's room caught her attention and made her lift her head. He was playing a guitar and singing, his voice was shaky and she could tell he was crying. She didn't know he could sing... or play guitar for that matter. But the words that he sang broke her heart.

_"I loved the way she laughed_

_The way her hair fell in her face_

_I loved the way she made me feel_

_And the looks she thought I didn't see._

_I wanted to give her the world_

_But that chance he took from me_

_Took away the one I love_

_And I couldn't stop this terrible fate_

_I can't believe I'll never see_

_The girl I love again_

_It breaks my heart into tiny pieces_

_And burns my soul from deep within_

_And I'll never see her smile_

_That lights up my whole world_

_I'll never get to tell her again _

_How in love with her I am_

_My heart is being torn from my chest_

_But these things I can't deny_

_Her life, her light was torn from me_

_Taken before her time_

_I cannot stop the tears_

_I cannot stop the pain_

_I cannot help but feel_

_That I'm the one to blame_

_I wish that she could take my hand_

_And lead me through this dark_

_But I'll never feel her hand in mine_

_And I can't help but think that it's my fault..."_

Fresh tears ran down Lexa's face as Brennan's voice broke off and loud sobs took their place. She jumped when she felt Jesse squeeze her hand. He had tears in her eyes and she knew that he had heard Brennan's song too. He sat up and put his arms around her. She laid her face in his shoulder and cried. It was the first time she had really let go since the incident. She felt a few of his tears fall into her hair as he cried too. 'How are we going to get past this?' She wondered sadly.

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

_A/N 1: Stupid bloody computer keeps f-ing with my song set-up and my paragraph indents. There's a space between every four lines and none between each set of four in the song and eery place wehre it skips a line in teh story, there's supposed to be a paragraph indent. Just to let you all know that. Evil thing keeps f-ing with me. Sometimes I hate this sh--... The f-ing computer hates me...I hope it dies...not really...that'd suck...I'd lose everything...AH!_

_A/N 2: Will Shalimar make it back to Sanctuary or will blood loss finally claim control over her weakened body? Will Brennan continue this slow death trail that he's on? Will she get back to him in time? Keep reading and reviewing to find out!!!_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Bite me...I know that I own nothing.

A/N: Come on people, my Smallville fic got more reviews than this! Do you want to lose to the competition!? SMALLVILLE GOT RE-SIGNED FOR NEXT SEASON AND MUTANT X DIDN'T!!!! GET PISSED!! BEAT THEM AT THE REVIEW GAME!!!

Also, now that that fangirl moment has passed, thank you to **KatKnits00** for the info about not having to indent my paragraphs, it was helpful in lowering the annoyance factor about how upload thing wouldn't let me indent. I'm still a bit pissed about the song set up being messed, but I'll deal. I know what it's supposed to look like and I guess that's all that matters.

**brigitta1**- Thanks so much for liking my story enough to find it again after booted me off the first time for "explicit content" bakas... If the person who reported me couldn't handle what he/she was reading, they didn't have to continue...Some people...grrr...Anyways, since then I've been trying to tone my sex and language down to hintings of "intercourse" and such. I hope I don't get kicked off again by someone who can't just tell me that I need to tone it down instead of reporting me for content that they can't handle... ANYWAYS, thanks for sticking with me! I appreciate it!!!

A/N 2: I AM SOOO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!!! But I used the word shit in a summary, which is apparently not allowed, so they banned me from updating for a REALLY long time... Also, I'm going away on vacation for a week so I'll be cut off my my internet and my computer.. ::Sob:: ..so, bear with me and stay tuned, I'll try to post again as soon as I get back.

Brennan's head dropped to his chest and a tear fell onto his guitar. He put his instrument off to the side, laid down on his bed, and put his face into the pillow, shoulder's shaking as tears soaked into the white linen of the pillow case. "Shalimar," he whispered, sobs racked his body.

Shalimar woke up painfully the next morning. Or what she thought was the next morning. In all actuality, she had been drifting in and out of consciousness for nearly three days. But she didn't know the difference. The days bled together in her fevered mind. All she knew was that it was cold and drizzly and her torn and bloody tank top wasn't doing much for her in the way of warmth. Her outer shirt, a button-up t-shirt, she had tied around the wounds on her stomach to slow the bleeding. She shivered and wrapped the tattered cloth tighter around her, wincing as the fabric put pressure on her wounds.

She rose, stiff and in pain. She shook her head, making her wobble unsteadily. She placed a hand on the tree trunk to steady herself before taking a deep, shaky breath and stumbling onward. She had to get back. She had to get back to Brennan. Before he did something stupid.

Brennan sat in the dojo, knees pulled tightly against his chest, arms around his legs. Six days. It had been six days, thirteen hours, twenty-eight minutes, and eighteen seconds since he'd lost her. He let out a shaky breath.

"It seems like just yesterday we were in each other's arms." He whispered to himself through his tears. "She was so warm...so beautiful. She was everything..." Rivers of painful regret ran down his cheeks.

He pulled out his pocket knife and flipped open the little blade. It shone, sharp and shiny under the bright lights of the dojo. He brought the blade to his upper-arm and pressed down hard. Blood pooled up around the blade, the edge now lost under blood and flesh. He carved a large S into his skin and watched the blood stream down. Down his arm, over his elbow, down over his wrist and pooling into his cupped hand. He picked the blade up, moving it to just below his elbow and pressing it down again. He traces pattern-less slices down over his wrist, then slashed it down into the S, over and over until it completely disappeared beneath the other cuts.

When he was done, he let the blade drop and put his head on his knees, letting the pain in his arm wash over him and drown out the pain clenching tightly to his heart. For those brief minutes, he felt nothing but the burning, searing pain coursing up and down his slashed arm. For those brief moments, he was free. Until his feeling of unconquerable loss returned to him and the slashes in his arm became just background to the pain in his heart.

"Bren, you've gotta eat something. It's been over a week. I haven't seen you eat anything yet." Lexa chided him as he pushed his food around his plate.

"I'm not hungry." He replied, not meeting her eyes. Brennan shifted and Lexa caught sight of the cuts on his arm. She took hold of his wrist before he could move his arm out of her reach and looked at them more closely.

"God, Brennan, what the hell are you doing?! You could kill yourself doing that! Are you crazy!?" She exclaimed. Brennan finally met her gaze and she could tell he hadn't gotten any sleep the past couple of days. Maybe even since that fateful day.

"I can't..." He began and his voice cracked.

"Can't what?" She asked gently.

"I can't ma-make the pain stop." He choked out, a fresh wave of salty tears running down his cheeks.

"Brennan," she whispered sadly and took him in her arms. "I know, I know it hurts. Shh... I know." She murmured comfortingly, rocking him gently.

A little while later he excused himself to his room again with a sworn promise to Lexa that he wouldn't cut himself anymore and walked slowly away. Lexa watched him go sadly before standing, taking the extra sandwich off the counter and going to Jesse's room.

"Hey, I brought you some food." Lexa announced softy as she entered Jesse's room in the medical ward.

"Thanks," he said, giving her a small smile. "How's Brennan doing?" Lexa sighed, looking at the floor.

"Not so good. I found slice marks on his arms." She paused. "He's been cutting, Jess."

"What!?" Jesse exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, I know. And he's cutting deep too. It's just... he hurts so badly. You heard his song. He's dying inside. He also hasn't eaten or slept in over a week. I'm worried about him. He's killing himself."

"Me too. I just wish we knew how to help him get through this. I mean, we think that Shal's death hurts us... Just imagine what it's doing to him. I tried to track Neilson, under the assumption that he might be wearing one of our rings, but I got nothing. I had a few of my contacts check that warehouse, but it's empty. They're gone. Without closure and the death of that sick bastard, how can we possibly help him?"

"I wish I knew." Lexa sighed again. There was a long pause in which neither of them spoke, but Jesse ran his fingers over Lexa's hand gently.

"How're you holding up?" Jesse asked her. "I mean, you're doing great at being strong for everyone; comforting Brennan... watching over me... Brennan said you never left the room while I was... you know..."

"Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. But I want to discuss something with you." She looked him straight in the eyes.

"What's that?"

"You can't _ever_ do that to me again, okay?" Jesse chuckled quietly.

"Okay," he replied, bright eyes shining.

"I'm being serious Jesse!" She reprimanded him. "You really scared me. When they dragged you back to the cell and I saw you... I thought... I thought you were dead. I thought they had killed you and I was so scared. Then Brennan a-and Shal rescued us and Bren brought us back here. You were touch and go for awhile and we didn't know if you would live through the night. And I sat beside you the whole night until you grew stronger and woke up and I knew you would make it. But that was the longest night of my life." Jesse hugged her tightly. A strange look came across his face and he pulled back and looked at her. "What is it?" Lexa asked, frowning.

"I heard. I heard what you said to me that night. About Emma and how feeling for people only got you hurt. I also heard that you had found yourself falling in love with me." Lexa gasped and her cheeks flushed brightly. She covered her face with her hands, flushing a deep red. Jesse smiled and pulled her hands from her face. He looked her straight in the eyes. "You were the reason I lived that night and I realize... I love you too." He whispered and her expression went from embarrassment to shock to joy so fast that it made Jesse laugh. Jesse cupped the back of Lexa's head, pulled her close to him, and kissed her gently. "I'll never leave you. You don't have to be afraid to feel ever again. I'll make sure of that." He assured her before kissing her deeply. And despite the graveness of the past several days their hearts flew in that moment, filled with happiness and love.

"Come on," Jesse said, breaking their kiss at last. "We should go check on Brennan."

"We?" Lexa asked, looking at him pointedly. "What's this 'we' stuff? You're not going anywhere."

"Oh, come on! I'm rested and better and I can't stand the look of this place. It's so dull and... Well, hospital-like." He whined.

"Fine, but I'm helping you." Lexa gave in reluctantly. "And if you find that you get tired or you're too sore, you tell me immediately. Deal?"

"Deal," Jesse promised. Lexa helped him get dressed and they went slowly out of the room.

"Knock knock," Lexa called, tapping lightly on Brennan's door. There was no answer. Lexa tried the door and found it unlocked and pushed it open gently. There on the floor with his back resting on the side of his bed, sat Brennan. He had open a large photo album and his head was down, tears dripping from his chin. "Oh, Brennan." Lexa sighed and she and Jesse went over to him. He looked up and forced a smile.

"Jess, you're out of bed." He remarked, he sounded tired. Not just physically tired, but mentally exhausted as well. Lexa quickly checked his arms for new cuts with her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found none. He had kept his promise.

"Yeah, but maybe you shouldn't be." Jesse frowned at him in concern. "When was the last time you ate something, Bren?" Brennan shrugged and looked down at his album again. Jesse didn't push the issue, but laid a hand on Brennan's arm, slightly surprised to find that his whole body was shaking. He looked down at the photo that Brennan seemed so captured by. Tears formed in his eyes when he saw it.

"I remember when that was taken." Lexa said, looking at it too. In the photo was Brennan, looking surprised but amused and Shalimar was on his back, her arms and legs wrapped around him and she was kissing his cheek. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and unbound love. He was smiling widely as he wrapped his arms around behind him to support her. "I had just arrived. You and Shal were still kind of skeptical about my motives." She said to Brennan. "She was up on the second floor and You, Jess, and I were downstairs. She jumped you, if I recall correctly. Scared the piss out of you too. It was hysterical. Jesse, you're a good photographer. Captured the moment perfectly." She smiled and kissed him.

"Oh, so you two finally got together, huh?" Brennan said, smiling a little. "Took you long enough...I mean, Sh-," He took a shaky breath, as if saying her name pained him. "Shalimar was the first to know. She um... she kept her mouth shut about it for a little while before I finally noticed and asked her about it. It was funny, watching you two and knowing how you felt about each other before you did." He smiled again through his tears as the memories flooded him. "I miss her so much." His voice broke into a quiet sob. Jesse and Lexa put their arms around him, letting him know in ways beyond words, that they were there for him.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Wow...I sort of just realised how much of a wuss I've made Brennan out to sound. ::smacks self:: Stupid stupid!! Oh well...too late now...anyways, in my defense, he thinks Shalimar's dead and he loves her more than anything else in the world...is that a good enough reason for his uber-sappy-cry-y-ness?? Again, sorry for the OOC-ness.


	8. Chapter 8

Discliamer: See previous chapters

A/N: OKay everyone, I know I ept you waiting for two weeks before an update so I figured I'd make this one longer than the rest AND give you the long awaited return of Shalimar...let me know if it's too sped-up or anti-climactic. Thanks for your patience, review please and thank you.

Shalimar stumbled into the secret door of Sanctuary. It had taken her what she believed to be about eight days, but what was really about eighteen, but she had finally made it. She pressed the concealed opener. "Voice Recognition Code Required." The computer's monotone voice rang out through the desolate cliff side.

"Sh-Shal-imar F-Fox." She rasped weakly, too weak from blood loss to speak any louder. She was lucky she was still standing.

"Voice Recognition Code Accepted." The computer stated and a buzzing noise ensued and a small door opened in the rock face. Shalimar breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar passageway. She was home. She stumbled onward, pulling herself up the flight of stairs and hobbling towards the computer room, hoping that someone was there. She didn't know how much longer she could hold herself up. The sun was just beginning to sink at almost six thirty pm.

Jesse looked up sharply at the strange noise that was coming up the hallway towards him. He leapt up getting into a fighting stance, though he didn't know how well he'd do at taking someone on right now. He was no where near ready for what he saw come stumbling around that corner. His jaw dropped and he fell out of his stance. He gaped in disbelief at the bruised, bloody, familiar woman before him. He knew what he saw, but his heart wouldn't let him believe it. Lexa came into the room, having heard the noise. Jesse heard her gasp sharply and that's when he knew that he wasn't seeing things. Time stood still, grinding to a halt as they stared at each other, the lost and the lovers. Lexa was the first to recover enough to get her voice working and time skidded back into motion.

"BRENNAN!" Lexa screamed, still unmoving. Brennan came running into the room, expecting to see intruders, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Shalimar. She raised her head weakly and looked him in the eyes.

"J-Jesse...th- that's not funny." Brennan said hoarsely.

"Brennan, I didn't-," Jesse looked at him, eyes wide, shaking his head slowly. Brennan turned back to Shalimar. It couldn't be. It couldn't be possible, could it?

"Brennan," She whispered almost inaudibly, she met his eyes and they were filled with so much pain and love, that Brennan knew. He just knew; his heart flooded with so much emotion that he could barely breathe. How could he have left her to find her way back in the condition that she's in? Why did he believe the word of that bastard? "Bre-," she began and then her knees gave out.

"Shalimar," Brennan breathed and ran over just in time to catch her in his arms as she crumpled to the floor. He knelt on the floor, holding her close to him. "Oh Shal, I thought I lost you." He kissed her forehead gently, tears streaming unchecked down his cheeks. He felt her blood on his arm and looked at her in concern. They had no idea how much blood she'd lost or how long she'd been trying to get home. He picked her up gently and carried her to the med lab with Lexa and Jesse in tow, still staring in utter disbelief.

"Brennan..." She murmured weakly and her eyes fluttered shut.

"It's okay baby." He said through his tears. "I'm right here. You're alive and you're back and I'm going to stay right beside you until you get better. I'm not going anywhere. You're safe now." He laid her down on the white-linen bed and turned to Jesse, who, like Lexa and himself, had joyous tears running down their faces. "Jess, get those computers fired up."

Jesse nodded and ran to the machines. Scanners ran over her body and pinpointed all the places that needed healing. One of the places was in her lower stomach where the finger-shaped bruises and indents Neilson had inflicted upon her still lingered. When the computer flashed those injuries on the screen Brennan cringed and growled viciously.

Shalimar's eyes flickered open and she reached for Brennan's hand. Brennan turned his attention to her, giving her a warm smile. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, concern flooding him as he felt how cold she was and how badly her body was shaking. She tried to speak, but Brennan hushed her gently, "Just rest baby." She didn't even have the strength to nod. She let her eyes close slowly and fell back into painless unconsciousness, knowing, at long last, that she was safe.

"She's in tough shape Brennan." Jesse said after the computers finished its scan. He had already slipped an IV into her hand and a monitor was beeping her hearts' slow, irregular rhythm from close beside her. Brennan came up behind him, laid a hand on his shoulder, and looked at the scan's results. They made no sense to him or Lexa, who was also looking at the computer, so Jesse clarified. "The wounds on her back and stomach are deep and she lost a lot of blood. We have no idea how long she's been trying to get back here. Bleeding...alone," He shuddered. "I'm starting the first transfusion now. It's a special blood that won't mess with her mutation. Adam designed it. It's just the first of several, plus we have to hope that it's not too late to heal those wounds."

They turned quickly when they heard Lexa gasp sharply. She had removed the shirt from Shalimar's stomach and wiped a clean, damp cloth over the wounds, trying to clean away some of the dried blood. The words cut in there were revealed and she stepped back in horror, her hand over her mouth in shock. Jesse and Brennan rushed over and they gasped simultaneously. "Sick bastard," Lexa breathed. Brennan felt sick. His stomach churned with disgust. That nasty pervert had taken a knife to his girlfriend and had carved 'freak' into her beautiful flesh. Jesse gagged and turned quickly back to his computer. He couldn't look at Shalimar's defiled body anymore. How anyone could have done this to someone like her, he couldn't understand. He didn't think he wanted to.

"Okay, the healing process should be starting...now." Jesse said as several laser beams shot down and played over Shalimar's pale skin. Her body began to convulse and her heart rate dropped dangerously. "Hold her down!" Jesse exclaimed, quickly typing things into the computer.

"Jesse, what the hell is going on!?" Brennan exclaimed as he pressed down on Shalimar's shoulders.

"Her body isn't responding well to the healing. She's too weak, but we have to keep it going long enough to stop the bleeding or she'll die!" Jesse shouted over the heart monitor's shrill beeping.

"If she goes too long she'll die anyways!" Lexa screamed, holding down Shalimar's legs.

"Just a few more seconds!"

"Come on Jess, we're losing her!" Brennan shouted in panic.

"Okay! Done!" Jesse exclaimed, punched a few keys and the lasers shot back up into their holsters. Shalimar's body was still, but the monitor kept up its shrill screaming.

"Jesse!?" Brennan yelled.

"Move!" Jesse shoved him out of the way and pulled out two paddles. He rubbed them together quickly. "Clear!" Brennan and Lexa removed their hands and Jesse laid the paddles on either side of Shalimar's chest. Her body lifted from the bed then fell back down. Nothing happened. The monitor continued its shrill keening. "Shit! Come on Shal! Stay with me!" He yelled, beginning to panic.

"Oh God, no, not again, please no...please don't take her again..." Brennan pleaded quietly. He couldn't lose her again, not now that he had finally gotten her back. Tears ran down his cheek and Lexa pulled him into her arms and he watched over her shoulder through tears as Jesse prepared the machine and shocked her again. They waited a few tense second before a slow, irregular blip...blip...blip filled the air. They all breathed sighs of relief.

"That was close Jess... Too close." Brennan said, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead and disentangling himself from Lexa to go to Shalimar, reaching down and stroking Shalimar's hair out of her face.

"I know, but if we didn't stop the bleeding she would've died. She's lost too much blood as it is. She's already on her second transfusion." Jesse explained apologetically. Brennan laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I know that it was a necessary risk, it's just..." He paused, looking down lovingly at Shalimar, tears filling his eyes again. "I can't lose her again..." Lexa pulled him into a tight hug.

"We're not going to lose her. She'll be okay. She was just too weak to be fully healed, we'll deal. We'll give her a day or so to rebuild her blood cells, then try again when she's stronger." Lexa assured him, sounding much more confident than she felt. Luckily, Brennan believed her. He rubbed his tired, teary eyes and went back to stand beside Shalimar, gripping her hand as if he would never let go.

"I'm going to give her a sedative," Jesse said, taking a pre-filled needle out of a drawer. "That way she'll remain unconscious and won't be able to feel any of the pain that she is undoubtedly in until she's ready to be healed. She's been through enough already; she doesn't need to hurt anymore." Brennan nodded in agreement and watched as his best friend slipped the needle into her arm.

Jesse turned to him. "Now that she's back I want you to eat something. Anything. Then get some sleep. You're exhausted and I know you've lost weight. I can see it. In your ribs and in your face. She's back. I'm not going to let anything happen to her. You can trust me. Now please. Please, go take care of yourself, before you're the next one on this hospital bed in critical condition." His next words were threatening. "If you don't, I'll knock your ass out with a sedative strong enough to sedate a horse and force fed you through an IV. Do you understand?" Jesse glared at him and Brennan cracked his first real smile in almost three weeks. The Elemental knew that Jesse's words came straight from his heart and from concern for his friend.

"I trust you, Jess. And I'll go eat something. I'm actually feeling kind of hungry." Brennan smiled again, kissed Shalimar's forehead gently, still reluctant to leave her. "If anything happens, you'll Com me right?"

"In a millisecond," Jesse promised.

"Okay," Brennan sighed, squeezed Shalimar's hand and kissed her again before tearing his eyes and hands from her and slowly moving out the door. Once he was out of ear shot, Jesse turned to Lexa.

"Follow him. Make sure he eats, okay? And if he doesn't, let me know immediately. I meant what I said." Lexa nodded, kissed his cheek, then tip-toed after Brennan. Jesse moved over to Shalimar's side and held her hand gently. He was silent for several minutes before rubbing his thumb over her cheek and talking to her quietly.

"You've gotta hang on Shal. He's been an absolute mess without you. I don't think we could handle losing you again. So you better not leave us." He told her quietly. Lexa came back in about an hour later and laid a hand on his arm, kissing his neck gently.

"How's Brennan?" Jesse asked, automatically.

"He ate oh... six sandwiches, two cans of soda, and an entire bag of chips before going into his room, falling into bed and within five minutes, he was snoring so loud I could hear him in the computer room." She said. Jesse laughed and kissed her hand, pulling her around and sitting her on his lap. He kissed her lovingly. "Mm," Lexa murmured, leaning into the kiss and entwining her fingers with his. "How's she holding up?" She asked when they broke their kiss, eyes falling on Shalimar.

"All bleeding has been stopped. She's now on her third and hopefully last transfusion. But her condition is still unstable. She has a high fever, which I'm still trying to get down. Her heart beat hasn't returned to normal and it's still irregular and scarily slow. She'd be a lot better off if we could just get her heart to beat at a steady rhythm. But her body has been through a lot of trauma and stress over the past several weeks. We have no idea what happened to her after the last Com message. All we know is that Neilson somehow faked her death to try and destroy Mutant X. That sick bastard," he said the last word through gritted teeth. Lexa squeezed his hand gently. "I'm scared for her Lexa." He admitted, eyes lingering on Shalimar's pale features. "I'm so afraid she won't make it through the night. She's so weak. I've never seen her like this before. It scares me to death, Lex, it really does."

She look at the fear and pain and remnants of shock in his eyes and pulled him into a tight embrace, wishing that she could will his fears away, wishing that she could make Shalimar better. "She'll be okay, Jess. We all know that Shal's always been stronger than we think. She'll get through this. We all will."

"I know...you're right...I just can't help being afraid for her. It's still terrifyingly possible that she could die tonight, on this bed, in my care. I couldn't live with myself if that happened." A tear fell from his closed eyes at the thought. Lexa cupped his face in her hands and smiled at him comfortingly.

"Hey, everything will be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm Lexa Pierce and I say that everything will be okay. How's that for an answer?" She smirked. Jesse chuckled at this and held her closer.

"Yeah..." he murmured and kissed her forehead.

"God, I just hope her stomach doesn't scar. She doesn't need a permanent remembrance of her ordeal." She took a deep breath and asked the question that had been eating at her since Shalimar's return to them. "Can she... you know... still have children?"

"Yes," Jesse said, sounding relieved. "I ran the test earlier and there was no permanent internal damage. If she so chooses, she can still have kids. And she and Brennan will have some really cute ones too."

"Yeah, they will." Lexa smiled at the thought of little half-Shal, half-Brennans running around Sanctuary. "They'll have like their own personal scale of stubborn-ness." They laughed. Lexa leaned her forehead against Jesse's. "What about us? I think we'd have some pretty adorable kids." Jesse looked surprised.

"I thought you weren't for mutant procreation?" He said.

"Yeah, well, things change." She kissed him gently.

"Yeah, change is good. Like out relationship change. That was very good." He kissed her again, deeper, more passionate.

"A very good change indeed," She agreed when they came up for air. Shalimar stirred and groaned, her face twisted in pain. Jesse ran over to her bedside. "She's waking up?" Lexa asked in semi-panic. "Should I call Brennan?"

"No. Not yet. Her body isn't ready for her mind to wake up." Jesse replied, he grabbed a needle and slipped it into Shalimar's arm. Her face instantly relaxed and the pained tension left her body. She fell back into a peaceful sleep. "She needs more rest to prepare her body for the healing that we have to do tomorrow. All we need to do is make sure that the pain killers don't wear off. I want her to be as comfortable as possible. If it wears off she'll be in a lot of pain. And I don't think that I can watch her suffer anymore." He laid a hand on the top of Shalimar's head and stroked her hair gently. A tear fell onto his hand as he leaned over her.

"What's wrong?" Lexa asked, putting her arms around him and kissing the back of his neck.

"I really thought...we'd lost her." He whispered through his tears. "It seemed so surreal after you told me. Like, this wasn't really my life. Like I would just wake up and it would be some horrible dream that Neilson gave me through psionics or something. But then as the days wore on...I knew that this was reality. And it hurt so much." He took a deep shuddering breath.

"When she came through that door, I just...froze. My eyes saw but my heart wouldn't let me believe it was real. I didn't want that to be the dream. Then you came in and I heard you scream for Brennan as if you were miles away...It just seemed too good to be true. I missed her so much." Tears ran down his cheeks. "I thought we'd lost her forever." Lexa pulled him into her arms and held him gently, letting him cry on her. After he stopped crying, he looked up at her.

"What about you? How've you been doing with all this? I mean, you've been so strong for us, Brennan and me, throughout these past few weeks, but you seem to be burying a lot in your attempts to stay strong."

"Yeah, I'm real good at burying, in case you hadn't noticed. But, I'm okay. I'm better now that she's back. I think we were actually starting to care about each other. At least I was. And it bothered me that I didn't get a chance to tell her before...But she's back now, so it doesn't matter. As long as she's okay, that's all that really ever mattered." She smiled a little. "Besides, I did my share of crying. Once with you. But most by myself."

"You should never have to cry alone. What'd you cry for, other than Shalimar's death?"

"Selfishly, a little for me. But mostly for you, not knowing if I would ever get the chance to tell you how I feel about you, or kiss you, or hear your voice, or see you smile. I cried for Brennan and what he lost. I cried a lot for Brennan. God, I can't even imagine what he went through after that last COM came in from Neilson. The pain must have been unbearable for him." A tear ran down her cheek. Jesse reached up and wiped it away with his thumb.

"Well, we're back now." He glanced at Shalimar. "All of us. And everything is going to be okay, as you've assured me."

"God, I hope so. If just for the sake of Brennan's sanity," Lexa sighed. Jesse kissed her forehead gently.

"Why don't you go try and get some sleep?" He suggested. "You look tired."

"So do you." She replied.

"Yeah, but I need to stay here. You know, just in case. I'll try to catch a few minutes in here, but you should really go to bed. I'll COM you if anything comes up."

"Okay," she agreed. "But try and get a little sleep. Wouldn't want you to get sick and end up looking like Brennan." She shuddered at the mental picture of her friend's current condition.

"Don't worry. Even if I don't get any sleep, I still eat. I don't think I'll _ever_ look like Brennan."

"You'd better not. I'd have to hurt you." Lexa glared, and then smiled. Jesse grinned at this and kissed her again, then gently nudged her.

"Go on, go get some sleep." He kissed her forehead gently, then her lips. She smiled softly, kissed him, and then left, eyes lingering for a brief moment on his smiling face.

Sometime in the night Jesse woke with a start from his position at the med labs computer desk. For a moment he didn't know what had woken him, but his immediate thought was for Shalimar. He saw her body twitch and them the screeching started as Shalimar's body started to fall apart on her again. "Oh God no!" Jesse exclaimed, rushing to her side and quickly bringing the COM ring to his lips. "LEXA! BRENNAN! GET IN HERE NOW!!!" He shouted as her heart beat dropped lower and lower. "No. No no no no on Shal don't do this to us!" Brennan burst through the infirmary door, a frantic look on his face, closely followed by Lexa.

"What's happening?!" Brennan called over the noise. Jesse was rushing around madly, grabbing tubes and wires, typing on the computer. "Jess!?"

"I'm losing her!" He exclaimed fearfully as he pulled out his paddles again and got them ready, just in case.

TO BE CONTINUED....

A/N: Hehehe...I'm so evil. I give you a nice long chapter and then end it in a cliffhanger. I love doing that...sorry, but I really am one for the drama... Review and I'll update faster...or as soon as I can next get on-line.


	9. Chapter 9

Diclaimer: yeah yeah..I know...

A/N: OMG!! I am soooo sorry!!! I can't believe I haven't updated in two months!! I am so so so so so so sorry!!! For those of you still waiting for me to update, I again apologize. I got a job and school restarted and everthing has just kind of sucked away at my time. Also, I've been doing a bunch of rewrites that'll show up just after this chapter, showing a deeper look into Shal and Bren's love. So tell me if ou like it. I would really appreciate reviews to let me know that ur still interested after all this time. Please and thank you, again, many many apologies. loads of love -Saph-

"What's happening?!" Brennan called over the noise. Jesse was rushing around madly, grabbing tubes and wires, typing on the computer. "Jess!?"

"I'm losing her!" He exclaimed fearfully as he pulled out his paddles again and got them ready, just in case.

"Oh my God," Brennan breathed and went quickly to Shalimar's side. He clasped her hand in horror and tears flooded his eyes. "No, come on baby; don't do this to me again. Don't leave me, please, please. I need you, please don't leave me again."

"Brennan, move!" Jesse shouted as he laid the paddles on her chest. Her back lifted from the table and then fell back down but to no avail, the monitor kept screaming. "Come on, come on!" He prepared it again and Brennan grabbed her hand. Tears fell from his eyes and landed on her cheek as he sobbed brokenly at the prospect of losing her again.

"Baby, please," he choked. "Stay with me, please." He begged and just as suddenly as it had started the wailing of the heart monitor stopped and after a few seconds was replaced by the slow beep... beep or her heart and a huge exhale of breaths from the three team mates.

Brennan breathed heavily and laid his head on Shalimar's chest, chest heaving with emotion, tears falling onto her pale skin. He grasped her hand tightly and ran his hand over her arm, body shaking.

"Thank God," he heard Jesse breath in relief. Lexa put her arms around his quaking shoulders and held him close. He held her to him and breathed heavily into her shoulder as the last few minutes terrifying tension left his body.

After about two hours sitting there in the med lab together, speaking little and staring in tense silence at Shalimar, Brennan was finally assured enough of her stability that he went back to bed. A few minutes later he was followed by Lexa, who had reluctantly left Jesse there again to watch over their friend. It had been one hell of a night as they drifted off to sleep at a little before midnight.

The next morning dawned pale and cold, and chilly wind whipped sand and small rocks about on the cliffs surrounding Sanctuary. Brennan woke early, around five A.M., and for a few moments he was consumed by that old, gnawing depression. Then, suddenly, it was as if someone had poured hot chocolate down his throat, a warm feeling began to push away the dark cold inside of him and for a minute, he didn't know where it came from. The previous day came back to him as if it were a dream. One of the most wonderful dreams he'd ever had. It was another few moments before he realized that it wasn't a dream; that it was, in fact, reality. And despite the scare he'd had only five hours ago, he smiled a bit and jumped out of bed, only to get dizzy and have to sit back down. He shook his head to clear it, stood slowly, and staggered to the bathroom.

Brennan looked up at the mirror and inhaled sharply. The face he saw looking back at him was pale, his cheekbones were hollowed and there were dark blackish-blue rings under his eyes. His eyes themselves were dim and only a slight hint of their usual sparkle of laughter could be found there. His hair was tangled and greasy, messy and dull-looking. He looked like he had just died and somehow, even after all of the stuff he had put his body through, it still shocked him. What the hell had he been thinking? He knew the answer. He hadn't been thinking at all. His mind and body had numbed and left no room for coherent or intelligent thought. He loved her more than words, more than the greatest joys and wonders of the world, more than life itself. And he'd known all along.

He pushed a breath from between his lips that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned to the bathtub, turning on the shower and giving it a few moments to get warm. When he felt that it was warm enough, he stepped in gingerly and grabbed a bar of soap and washed himself. He felt as though he was washing away all the pain of the past several weeks, all the sorrow, until all he had left was the blame and the regret. He still believed that her fate had somehow been of his doing, as though, somehow, he could have prevented it if he'd just tried harder. Somewhere in the depths of all his self-loathing and self-blaming, he knew that there was nothing he could have done. She had put herself on the line to give him the chance to save their friends, but that was the reasonable section of his brain speaking and he wasn't quite done de-numbing the other parts and wasn't listening to his own rationalizations. Maybe, eventually, he would listen, but he might need a little help. And there was only one person that help could come from, and she was still teetering on the edge of the cliff of her death, fighting to balance her will to live with the pain and exhaustion of her body to keep herself from falling and leaving them forever.

He got out of the shower feeling strangely refreshed and his body felt lighter than it had in weeks. He wrapped a fluffy towel, one that Shal had given him as a joke gift when he was redoing the bathroom, around his waist, and stepped out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He dressed quickly, throwing on black boxers, faded jeans, and a light-fabric, midnight blue, button-up shirt. He ran a brush through his hair hastily, and then messed it up, giving him that classic tousled look. He went back to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then looked at his reflection again. It was a bit better than last time. It was amazing what a shower could do; plus, he figured, maybe the food from the previous night had finally begun to fill out his cheeks just a little. It was then that he realized he was starving. His stomach growled loudly. He smirked and wandered out to the kitchen, still a little dizzy.

"Hey," Lexa greeted him when he walked through the entrance way to the small kitchen. "How are you?" She asked, genuinely worried about him.

"Better," He flashed her an echo of his old, bright smile. She grinned at him.

"How'd you sleep last night, you know, after...?" She didn't have to finish, he knew what she meant.

"Okay, I had a bit of trouble getting back to sleep, but that's to be expected. Other than our little scare last night I slept surprisingly well. I guess, I mean...when she...When Shal came through that door, I felt this huge weight lift off of me. A weight I didn't even realize I'd been carrying. And all the emotions that I had inside of me that had gone numb, the merest echo in comparison to the blazing pain of losing her, came back and it just drained me. I didn't realize what going that long without food or sleep could do to me, until I'd already done it." He paused. "I looked in the mirror this morning. For the first time since...," he didn't have to say it; Lexa knew, "And what I saw scared the shit out of me. How could I've let it get that bad? I could have killed myself." He paused again, contemplating whether or not to tell her what he was thinking. She smiled reassuringly and he ploughed on, not giving himself time to change his mind. "I think, quite honestly, that I _was_ trying to kill myself. I mean starvation, sleep deprivation, and cutting. I kept thinking that, if I died, I could be with her. That's all I wanted. To be with her. Nothing else mattered. I just... shut down..."

"You were in pain," Lexa soothed him. "Jesse and I get that. We really do, but death was never the answer. Why do you think I got so pissed when I found out you were cutting? We were really worried about you." She smacked his arm, rather hard. "What the hell were you thinking!?" She exclaimed. "Even with Shal gone, Jesse and I still needed you! Or didn't you consider that?! God, you can be so selfish!" She breathed heavily at the end of her mini-tirade.

"Um...Sorry?" He said tentatively. She glanced up at him and met his eyes, and then they both burst out laughing. "Feel better now?"

"Yeah, damn, I just got sick of holding that in. So I figured, since you seemed to be in better humor this morning, I'd stop restraining my big mouth and just let it out."

"Well, I'm glad you did. And I'm sorry I worried you. I just... lost myself."

"It's cool. Now eat something and come to the lab, I think Jesse's almost ready to start healing Shal, he's just running a few more preliminary tests to make sure she's ready."

"Okay," he smiled a little. "Thanks, Lex. It means a lot that I can talk to you. You sure have changed since the first time me met."

"Time changes most things, Sparky." She grinned and left with a wave. A small smile curled the edges of his lips. He shook his head in mild amusement and got himself a bowl and cereal with a lot of sugar in it. He'd eat healthy to regain his strength later; right now he just needed to stay awake.

"How's she doin', Jess?" Brennan asked when he pushed through the lab door about fifteen minutes later.

"Okay." The molecular replied, glancing up at him. "Not great, her heart beat is still irregular and her temperature is still pretty high, but okay. Better than yesterday. She seems to have improved since our scare last night. Her condition is stable enough for us to begin healing her now."

"You're sure?" Brennan asked, sitting down beside Shalimar's bed and holding her hand lovingly.

"Positive, I've run every test twice, just in case. Her body can handle it now."

"Then let's get going."

"Okay, Lex, you ready?" He asked her. She nodded and signaled for Brennan to back away. "Lock and load." Jesse tapped a few keys and a bright beam shot down from its holster in the ceiling and played over Shalimar's body. Little cuts and bruises were the first things to disappear, next went the large bruises on the left side of her face and on her wrists. The welts on her abdomen were the next to disappear. The longest healing processes began when the light lingered over the word carved into her stomach, which, much to everyone's relief, left no scars; and the deep gashes on her back and shoulder. Two long thin lines of scars over her shoulder blade and running slightly down her back and three parallel lines on her side, were all that remained of her ordeal.

The beams shot back into their holsters and were still. Shalimar's heart beat fell into a normal rhythm and her body temperature normalized itself. A healthy color began to return to her ghostly-pale cheeks. Brennan hugged Jesse tightly. "You're a miracle worker."

"Yeah, well, I could say the same for you. You saved our lives too remember. And without Shalimar's help on the computers, too." Brennan punched his arm gently and smiled before moving to Shalimar's side.

"When will she wake up?" He asked, stroking her hair gently.

"I don't know. She's still a little pale and, though her wounds have been healed, her body has still been through a lot. It may be awhile yet. But she's alive and she's out of the woods and in the clear. We've got her back. For good."

"It's weird, but I'm still afraid that I'll wake up in the morning and she'll be gone. Like a really amazing, but cruel dream."

"Yeah, me too." Jesse agreed. Lexa grinned wickedly and pinched first Brennan, then Jesse's arms. They flinched and cried out.

"What was that for?" They asked simultaneously.

"Guess you're not dreaming, huh?" She laughed and strolled casually from the room, leaving them staring, open-mouthed, after her. Jesse shook himself out of his thoughts and smiled, making his way to the door.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go follow the once-cynical one." He said, and then went running down the hallway after Lexa. Brennan laughed quietly to himself, then laughed harder when he heard Lexa's shriek of surprise. He turned back to Shalimar, kissing her forehead lovingly.

"I hope you wake up soon, Shal. I need you with me. Not just physically. I need you to wake up. I know it's selfish, but I thought you were dead. And yet, here you are. And it's amazing and unbelievable and incredible. It's like this huge part of me has been refilled from when it disappeared with your death. Only your open eyes can truly reassure me. I love you so much." He kissed her lips gently.

Two days later Brennan was still waiting. But his waiting would soon be over. Jesse and Lexa sat together against the wall, talking quietly and Brennan just stared down at her, hoping, praying, that today would be the day she'd open those beautiful eyes of hers and be back with him again.

Shalimar's hand moved gently under his and his eyes snapped to her face. "Jess, Lexa, her hand just moved!" He exclaimed, and they came running over. Shalimar's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, a confused expression on her face, before her eyes brightened at the sight of Brennan's joyful face looking down at her and she smiled.

"I made it," she breathed, sat up quickly, and threw herself into Brennan's waiting arms, crying softly into his shoulder. Tears ran down Brennan's cheeks as he held her close to him, never wanting to let go. She pulled away far enough to look into his eyes lovingly and whisper, "I'm home," Before he pulled her into his arms again.

"I thought I'd lost you. I thought I'd never see you again." Brennan whispered into her neck.

"I will never leave you. I keep my promises." She smiled, and then he was kissing her. A deep, passionate, I'll-never-let-you-go kiss. Then he held her again. When they finally pulled apart, rather reluctantly, but with his arm still around her waist, she turned and smiled warmly at the two other mutants. "Jess, Lexa!" And she held out her arms to them and they hugged her. Jesse kissed her cheek, a tear running down his face. Lexa grinned at her, and then hugged her again, before Brennan reclaimed his hold on her.

"We thought you were dead." Lexa said, trying and failing to force away the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes.

"Neilson's doing, I bet." Jesse said angrily.

"Neilson," Brennan growled and began to move off the bed, fully intending to go after the man that had hurt the woman he loved, angry that he hadn't done it before. He stopped when he felt Shalimar's gentle hand on his arm.

"He's dead." She announced, not sounding like she felt the least bit sorry for him. "Bastard got what was coming to him." There was a slight growl in the under-tones of her voice.

"Good," Brennan concurred, promptly sitting back down on the edge of her bed. "How'd you do it?" He asked, a little too eagerly. Shalimar laughed quietly.

"Well, I was going to beat him to death, that would've been a more appropriate end, but that big ass guard, Marcus, tried to get me, so I snapped Neilson's neck, knocked out the oaf and the psycho-kitty and ran...well...limped away."

"What happened after that?" Brennan asked gently. She met his eyes.

"I knew I had to get back here, to you. I knew you'd do something stupid." His eyes widened and he subconsciously pulled the long sleeves of his sweat shirt over his hands. She didn't notice and he smiled and kissed her. "Anyways, I got out of the building and hid in a dumpster until there was nobody else around, and then I ran off down the round and hid behind a big tree and passed out. When I woke up, I continued in the direction that my instincts told me would take me home. Cars passed, but nobody saw me, which was the idea. I never knew which car might hold some of Neilson's men. Eventually, I got home. Jesse saw me come into the computer room and froze up, I guess."

"I thought I was seeing things. We all thought you were dead." Jesse interrupted in his own defense. Shalimar nodded in understanding and smiled at him. By now, a healthy color had returned to her skin, and the old, familiar sparkle had returned to her eyes.

"Lexa, I guess, heard the noise I was making as I stumbled down the hallway or saw Jesse's face and came running in. She saw me, looked all shocked for a few seconds, and then I heard her scream for you." She smiled at Brennan. "You came running into the room, froze, then looked at Jesse and accused him of making a fake me or something," she laughed. "Then our eyes met and you came running over to me. I felt your arms around me and I finally felt safe. I don't really remember anything after that, and there seems to be days missing between the time I escaped and when I got here. I seem to recall only about eight days." She paused, "Is that right? Eight days?"

Brennan shook his head, "No, try nearly three weeks," his voice cracked with emotion. Shalimar hugged him gently, and then turned to Jesse wondering if she really wanted to ask the question that had been pushing to the front of her mind since she'd woken up.

"Jesse," she began then paused.

"Yeah?" He prompted after several seconds of silence.

"Did he-? Can I still...you know...get pregnant?" Tears filled her eyes, dreading his answer.

"Yes, Shalimar." She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and felt Brennan's hand tighten on hers. "He left no permanent internal damage. You can still have kids." She smiled at him gratefully. She felt Brennan's arm envelop her waist and she leaned into his embrace with a loving smile.

"Okay, now that you know that, let's get back to the story. How did you get away from Neilson in the first place? I mean, obviously he had you tied. He was nuts, not stupid." Lexa asked. Shalimar dropped her gaze from them in shame before answering, her eyes focused on the white bed sheets. She fiddled with the soft fabric, not daring to meet Brennan's eyes when she spoke.

"He was going to let the other feral...have her way with me, so, when she did... I faked it. Then I begged her to let me touch her, and she did. She cut my bonds, then I attacked them and that's basically it." She said rapidly, eyes still fixated on the white linens.

"That feral raped you!?" Brennan exclaimed furiously.

"Sort of," she shrugged. "She thought I was doing it willingly. It was odd. After everything she'd done to Jesse and Lexa, I felt this sympathy coming from her after what Neilson did to make you think I was dead. It made it easier for my plan to work. She was willing to trust me."

"But she raped you."

"Yes. Technically. But she didn't climax, and she didn't think that I didn't want her to."

"Why are you defending her?!" He exclaimed angrily, leaping from his seat and facing her furiously. He didn't understand how she could stick up for the woman who had tortured and nearly killed their friends and who had raped and nearly killed her.

"I'M NOT! I just don't want you to go after her and get yourself caught and killed!" Her voice broke into a sob. "I KNOW what she did to me! I FELT the pain when her nails dug into my back! A searing, blinding, excruciating pain! I SAW the blood on Lexa and Jesse from where she attacked them! I KNOW what she's capable of and I don't want you to have to feel what we felt! Because I can guarantee you that she'll be a lot worse now that Neilson's dead! If she catches you, she won't fail to kill you! I AM NOT DEFENDING THAT BITCH!" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly in the general direction of the factory. Tears streaked her face, "I just _can't_ let her hurt you like she hurt us! I WON'T! I WON'T LET HER HURT ANOTHER PERSON THAT I LOVE! ESPECIALLY NOT YOU! Never you, never," She sobbed. Brennan quickly pulled her into a tight hug, holding her shaking body against his chest. He kissed her hair. He cupped her face in his hands and watched the tears run down her cheeks.

"Okay," He whispered, kissing her gently, pulling her back into his arms. "Okay, I get it. I'm sorry, shhh, baby I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you or doubted your actions. I'm sorry. Shh, baby, I'm sorry, please don't cry. I can't stand to see you cry. I'm sorry."

"Please, Brennan. Please promise me you won't go after her. Please," she begged tearfully.

"I promise," he said quickly, kissing away her tears. "I was just...angry. Frustrated. For the past three weeks I've felt nothing but guilt! I kept asking myself: how could I have left you there? What could I've done differently? Why wasn't I there to protect you?" His voice broke and he wiped away a tear that fell from his eye. "I love you. I swore to myself I would never let anything happen to you. And I failed. God, I failed miserably..." he pushed himself up off the bed and walked over to stand facing into a corner of the room, hand covering his face, shoulders shaking.

Shalimar got shakily, painfully to her feet. Her legs almost gave out beneath her, but Jesse grabbed her arms and steadied her. She made her way slowly over to Brennan and put her arms around him, kissing his shoulder gently. "You didn't fail. I made my own decisions that day. I failed you." He turned to face her, putting his arms around her waist.

"You could never fail me." He kissed her forehead. "You kept your promise. I'll keep mine. But I still don't like the idea that that psycho is free to roam the streets."

"Maybe someday we'll catch her. But not today, not alone," she replied. He nodded and helped her back to the bed. She grumbled objectively. Brennan laughed and kissed her.

"What?" He laughed. She turned to Jesse.

"Jess, I love you, but these hospital beds are really, really uncomfortable." She gave him her best sad-puppy-dog eyes. "Can't I sleep in my own bed? I'll stay in bed and won't move. I'll be a good little out patient, but _please_, don't make me sleep in here." He smiled.

"Welcome to my world, babe, I spent nearly a week in here because _someone,"_ he eyed Lexa pointedly, "wouldn't let me leave." He smiled at Shalimar's expression of disappointment. "Well, I want to continue to monitor your condition for a little while. Think you can hang in there until maybe tomorrow night? Two nights at the most, I promise." She sighed melodramatically.

"I suppose." She yawned and her eyelids drooped visibly.

"Okay, way too much action for today, I think," Brennan said, helping her lay down. She winced visibly at least twice before she got comfortable. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have gotten you so worked up after everything you've been through. You need your rest." Jesse and Lexa hugged her, and Jesse kissed her cheek before turning to leave.

"You have no idea how glad we are to have you back," Jesse said over his shoulder and he and Lexa joined hands and walked down the hallway together. Shalimar's eyes widened.

"Did I just see that? Did they- When?" She asked happily.

"A week or so ago...after...," he fell silent. "I guess near-death experiences really do bring people together." He smiled.

"Yeah, but they already liked each other." She yawned. "I guess they just needed that extra push."

"I guess so." He started to walk away but stopped when she hastily grabbed for his arm.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep," she asked, hoping she didn't sound as childish as she felt. He smiled warmly.

"Of course." He smiled, kissed her and turned off the lights. She fell asleep with him holding her hand, stroking her hair, and muttering his love into her ear.

A/N: I gave you an extra-long chapter to make up for my not updating, I hope you like it and review to let me know that I've not lost your amazing support. -Saph-


	10. CHAPTER 10 UP AT LAST!

A/N: Sorry it took so long...work/school/stupid...meh..

And he did. He was still there with his arms folded on the bed, head resting on his arms, and one hand still loosely placed over Shalimar's, when she woke up the following morning. He flashed her one of his brightest smiles and kissed her.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips.

"I love you too." He looked at her seriously. "Don't ever leave me."

"I won't." She met his eyes.

"Promise, Shal. Promise me."

"I promise," She kissed him gently.

"Good thing I hurried back, you look like shit, Bren," Shal commented as she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and laid a gentle hand on his hollowed cheek. It was the morning of her fourth day back at Sanctuary and she had finally managed to talk Jesse into letting her leave the lab with the stipulation that she had to have supervision at all times. Not that that was a problem, since Brennan hadn't left her side even to sleep. Brennan's condition frightened her to the point that she was, at this very moment, force-feeding him in the kitchen.

"Shal, I think I've eaten enough in the last ten minutes to last me all day. Don't you think this is a bit over-kill?" He laughed as she pulled out a yogurt for herself and salad for Brennan. He rolled his eyes; _oh goody, more salad_, he thought wryly. He noticed that as she walked she limped slightly; he knew that she was trying to hide it from him so he said nothing. She had a lot of pride, his feral.

"No," she replied bluntly. "It's not my fault you didn't eat for three weeks, so now that I'm back we need to get you healthy again."

"I told you I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." She raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "Stop arguing, I've seen you eat more than this during a football game."

"Yeah, but those are three hours long, not ten minutes." He replied with a grin.

"Shut up and eat." She glared and her eyes flashed golden.

"Yes ma'am," he said in defeat, eyes downcast and lower lip jutted out pitifully. She kissed his cheek and lips with a warm smile.

"Good boy," she pressed another kiss against his lips before taking a spoonful of yogurt and supervising his salad-eating closely. "Oh, by the way, I noticed the cuts on your arm." She commented offhandedly. Brennan nearly chocked on a mouth full of salad.

"Wh-what?" He coughed, taking a sip of water quickly, eyes watering. She eyed him sadly.

"I saw them and at first I thought that you'd been in a fight or something. So, I asked Lexa about it." She entwined her fingers with his. "She told me what you'd been doing Bren. Why?" Her brow furrowed. He raised downcast eyes to her face, eyes haunted and sad.

"Because you were gone and it felt like someone had ripped my heart from my chest and left me to die slowly and alone. You are my entire world, Shal, and losing you hurt so badly, you have no idea how alone and guilty and lost I felt. This," He held out his marred arm to her eyes. "This was the only way I could make it go away, however temporarily; it was the only way I could make the pain in my heart background to the pain in my arm. Do you understand what I mean?"

She nodded, eyes glistening with tears. "I'm so sorry Brennan." She whispered, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I can't imagine what this must have been like for you. It was stupid of me to think I could fight all of those men alone. I'm sorry."

"It wasn't stupid, Shal, it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen." She eyed him. "Okay, it was a little stupid." She laughed and laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist possessively. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips into her forehead. "You're amazing," He whispered into her hair.

"I know," she sighed melodramatically. He laughed and shoved her playfully and she giggled. Brennan rolled his eyes at her and she laughed. He reached for her, trickery playing in his eyes, fingers wiggling, making as if to tickle her. She skipped out of his reach, gasped sharply, pain flashing across her features as it coursed along her side and abdomen and her legs gave out from under her. Concern flared in Brennan as he dove to catch her as she fell and cradled her in his arms, eyes anxious and fearful.

"Shal? Shal, are you okay? Do I need to COM Jesse?" He asked quickly, gently smoothing her hair from her face. She caught her ragged breath as the pain slowly ebbed.

"No," she gasped. "No, I'm okay."

"You just collapsed. I don't think that merits an okay."

"Brennan," she struggled to sit up. He placed his hands around her back and lifted her gently. She turned gingerly to face him. "Jesse said I'd be sore for awhile, I'm fine, I swear."

He frowned, "Having your knees give out from under you because of pain you're experiencing sounds a little more extreme than just being sore. I'm gonna have Jesse check you out, just in case." She glared at him and shifted, then gasped again, clasping a hand over her side. When she pulled her hand away, blood covered her palm and fingers and soaked through her t-shirt.

"Shit," Brennan breathed and scooped her up into his arms. "Jesse," he opened the connection on his COM ring. "Meet me in the med lab now, Shal's bleeding."

"What?" Jesse exclaimed. "How'd she manage that one?"

"Trying to force-feed me. I guess she over-exerted herself. But how is she bleeding, I thought you healed her."

"I did, but cuts that deep still need to be stitched sometimes."

"When'd you give her stitches?" Brennan frowned as he rushed to the med lab.

"Well, the cuts re-opened after her second healing. I though it had scarred and was done, but it had other ideas, so I stitched it."

"'Why didn't you tell me?" Brennan admonished him.

"I thought you knew. I figured Shal would've told you." Jesse explained, cutting the COM connection as they met outside the med lab. Brennan looked down at Shalimar. She shrugged painfully and smiled.

"I forgot?" She suggested vaguely. Brennan glared.

"Shalimar," he admonished her lying, voice hard.

"I didn't want you to worry. You had enough to stress about as it was. I didn't want you to freak over a few stitches."

He smiled slightly. "You should've told me."

"I'm sorry; anyways, now you know, don't you." She grinned as Jesse re-stitched her wounds.

"Shalimar," Brennan reprimanded her again, but she continued smiling. He rolled his eyes at her as Jesse finished.

"Okay, Shal, now, no excess movement for a while, two weeks at least and that's non-negotiable." Jesse said. She glared, golden-eyed and fierce.

"Shal." Jesse's voice held a rare edge and a reprimanding tone, glaring back in a no-nonsense way.

"Okay, okay." She sounded disappointed, raising her arms in mock surrender.

"Don't worry Shal; I'll take care of you. I'll be your own personal slave 'til you're fully healed." Brennan swore, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

Shal brightened visibly. "Hmm, that means I get to veg in front of the TV and watch whatever I want." She grinned wickedly. "This came with some perks after all." She grinned. "Come on, slave-boy, to the living room." She giggled as he gently picked her up into his strong arms and strode out the door.

"Thanks Jess!" She called back over her shoulder, waving happily. Jesse smiled to himself and went to find Lexa.

"Oh Brennan!" Shalimar called sweetly, giggling as he trudged piteously into the room looking annoyed and forlorn.

"Yeah?" He quirked an eyebrow, arms akimbo.

"Such disrespect!" Shalimar gasped with a laugh. "That's no way to speak to your master, slave-boy." She grinned wickedly as he sighed in irritation and came slowly to attention, looking bored.

"Yes ma'am, Shalimar ma'am." He gritted sarcastically. She laughed again, taking pity on him, and reached a small, delicate hand out for him, tilting her head beckoningly.

"C'mere," she smiled warmly. He brightened visibly as he sat down on the edge of the couch and placed a kiss on her knuckles. She placed her hand on the back of his head and brought him down for a gentle kiss. He smiled against her lips, eyes glowing with love and a hint of a darker desire.

"Yes master?" He whispered as he kissed her again, and then moved his lips down to her neck. "How may I serve you?" He placed feather-light kisses along the side of her neck and throat. She sighed and mumbled something incoherent as she leaned back her head to give him better access to her neck. "What was that?" He tangled his hands into her hair and moved his lips across her collar bone and slid his other hand along the small of her back. She moaned softly and pulled him to her lips again, kissing him fiercely.

"You're free." She whispered. "I release you." She said, deepening their kiss.

"You haven't released me yet." He breathed suggestively

"I will." She grinned, running her hands over his chest.

"You will," he growled and pulled her tank top over her head, his soon following.

Lexa and Jesse entered through the garage door after returning from mall, Lexa looking incredibly pleased with herself and Jesse looking as if he'd never leave Sanctuary again. She had bought quite a lot and had made Jesse be her baggage carrier for nearly four hours. She'd, to Jesse complete confusion, managed to buy seven dresses, six skirts, thirteen shirts and several skimpy pairs of pajamas and lingerie. He was exhausted and all he'd bought was a replacement shirt that'd been ruined the day they'd been kidnapped; unfortunately, blood just didn't come out.

"How can you possibly buy that much clothing? Where do you put it all?" He asked her wearily.

"I'm a girl," she stated, as if that explained everything. "I would've brought Shal but you've condemned her to bed rest until Tuesday, so don't blame me. And as to where I put it all, Shal and I turned one of the spare rooms into a walk in closet." She smiled. He rolled his eyes as they rounded the corner into the living room. Lexa gasped and clapping a hand over Jesse's eyes, shielded hers, and turned back in the direction they'd just come from.

"What? What's wrong?" He tried to turn around but she gripped his arm tightly and wouldn't let him. "Ow," he flinched as her fingernails dug in. For a minute he though there was something seriously wrong before her thinly veiled laughter reached his ears. "Lexa! What are you laughing about?"

"No-nothing," she laughed hysterically for several minutes before managing to get control over it. "It's just," another giggle slipped out. "Sorry, it's just... I don't think Shal did much resting today." She burst, once again, into gales of laughter.

"What do you mean?" He again tried without success to turn. "Lexa!" He whined. "What the hell?"

"I seriously just saw a naked ass." She giggled, keeling over in suppressed laughter.

"What?! You mean they-,"

"Uh-huh."

"On the couch-,"

"Uh...huh..." she gasped, tears running down her cheeks.

"Aw, that's nasty man." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. All Lexa could do was nod vigorously. Jesse glanced down at her hunched form and grinned, picking her up into his arms. "Let's saw we go christen the dojo mats?" He grinned suggestively. She nodded, still laughing to hard to talk. Without a word and being careful to keep Shalimar and Brennan's naked sleeping forms out of his line of sight, he whisked her off to the training room.

Lexa and Jesse walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Shalimar and Brennan already there. Jess and Lexa glanced at each other and bit back laughter. Brennan frowned at them in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," Lexa answered sweetly. "So, what'd you two do yesterday?" Shalimar blushed lightly and squeezed Brennan's hand beneath the table.

"Uh, not much, you?" Shal replied.

"Shopping, I bought some of the cutest stuff, you've gotta see it. Oh, and speaking of seeing," she glanced with a snort of laughter at Brennan. "That's um...an interesting little scar you've got back there, Bren." Jesse bit back laughter as Shalimar and Brennan's jaws dropped and their eyes widened.

"Wha-, how did you- Shit." Brennan sputtered.

"Yeah, I mean, the couch guys? That's so gross. We sit there." Shalimar flushed deeply at Lexa's words as Jesse gave up trying to restrain himself and burst into gales of laughter. Brennan turned a bright red and kicked Jesse beneath the table.

"OW!" Jesse exclaimed with gasping chuckles, kicking him back. "Jerk!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: only like one more chapter to go!!


	11. Chapter the Last

Sorry this chap is mondo short but I'm posting the first chap of the sequel immediately afterwards. Thanks much to everyone who reviewed. Love you all loads.

A few weeks later found Shalimar and Brennan standing together on the top of a small mountain near Sanctuary. It was their special place. Brennan stood behind Shalimar with his arms firmly wrapped around her waist. She leaned against him, shutting her eyes for a moment to savor the feeling in the air as they stood in each other's arms.

They watched in serene silence as the sun sank slowly below the horizon in a burst of reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks. When it was almost completely lost from view and the clouds were wreathed in a soft pink haze backed by a gentle purple, soon to be turned to the deep purple of the night, Brennan turned Shalimar to him and kissed her gently, then leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you." He whispered, almost as if he were afraid that if he spoke any louder he would disturb the calm twilight.

"I love you too." She leaned her head back and kissed his nose, then moved down to plant a gentle kiss on his lips.

"You're my everything," he murmured, then pulled away from her a little and began fumbling in his pocket for something.

"What're you doing?" She asked with a laugh, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Something I wish I'd done sooner." He pulled a small, velvet box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful, two carat, princess cut diamond engagement ring. He got to his knee and looked up at her, his fear of rejection and overwhelming love showing clearly in his eyes.

"Shalimar Fox, I love you more than life itself. I can't stand the thought of losing you again. I want you in my life, now and forever. You hold my heart. You always will. Will you marry me?" He stared straight into her eyes.

She stared at him, wide eyed, mouth slightly open in surprise.

THE END

...Or is it?...

A/N: I'll post a sequel called Lover's Betrayal if I get enough reviews for the final chapter of this fic ...Peace and love...Rock on...Etcetera... Review for me because you know you want to and it makes me happy and motivates me to write things like...oh...sequels, perhaps?....BWA HA HA HA HA! ::disappears in a cloud of blueish-black smoke::


End file.
